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Homeopathy 2003; 92(04): 195-202
DOI: 10.1016/j.homp.2003.08.014
Original Paper
Copyright ©The Faculty of Homeopathy 2003

Effects of homeopathic arsenic on tobacco plant resistance to tobacco mosaic virus.

Theoretical suggestions about system variability, based on a large experimental data set
L Betti
1   Department of Agro-Environmental Science and Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Bologna University, Italy
,
L Lazzarato
1   Department of Agro-Environmental Science and Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Bologna University, Italy
,
G Trebbi
1   Department of Agro-Environmental Science and Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Bologna University, Italy
,
M Brizzi
2   Department of Statistical Sciences, Faculty of Statistical Sciences, Bologna University, Italy
,
GL Calzoni
3   Department of Evolutionary Experimental Biology, Faculty of Science, Bologna University, Italy
,
F Borghini
4   Association for Medicine Applied to Italian Research on Water, Roma, Italy
,
D Nani
5   Italian Anthroposophical Medical Group, Milano, Italy
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Publication History

Received10 March 2003
revised19 June 2003

accepted11 August 2003

Publication Date:
22 December 2017 (online)

Also available at
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Abstract

Context: This research aimed at verifying the efficacy of homeopathic treatments by plant-based bioassays, which may be suitable for basic research, because they lack placebo effects and provide large datasets for statistical analyses.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of homeopathic treatments of arsenic trioxide (As2O3) on tobacco plants subjected to tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) inoculation as biotic stress.

Design: Blind, randomized experiment using tobacco leaf disks.

Materials and methods: Tobacco plants (Nicotiana tabacum L. cultivar Samsun) carrying the TMV resistance gene N. TMV inoculated leaf disks were floated for 3 days in the following:

Distilled water (control)

H2O 5 and 45 decimal and centesimal potencies

As2O3 5 and 45 decimal and centesimal potencies

The main outcome measures is the number of hypersensitive lesions observed in a leaf disk.

Results: Homeopathic treatments of arsenic induce two effects on the plant: (i) increased resistance to TMV; (ii) decrease variability between experiments (system variability).

Conclusions: In this experimental model two actions of homeopathic treatment were detected: decrease in system variability and enhancement of the natural tendency of the system towards an ‘equilibrium point’.

Keywords

homeopathy - tobacco plants - virus infection - arsenic - resistance - system variability
 

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