AbstractsMedical & Health Science

The aim of this study was to evaluate the growth rate of germinating Zea Mays seeds subject to the administration of homoeopathically potentised Carbo vegetabilis in the potencies 12CH, 13CH and 14CH. The purpose of the study is to help disprove the popular "placebo effect" explanation as to why homoeopathy works by showing that homoeopathic medicine can have a fundamental effect on a living organism and thereby lend credibility to homoeopathy as a science. This study is of value as previous botanical studies have not attempted to provide an explanation as to how homoeopathic potencies may be acting and have mostly merely demonstrated their effects on cleoptile growth. Six hundred Zea Mays seeds were selected and planted in rolls of germination paper. There were 150 seeds in each of the three test groups as well as in the control group. The control group received distilled water only and the test groups their respective liquid potencies of Carbo vegetabilis, which were prepared using distilled water. The germination rolls were incubated at 24°C in darkness for a total of 135 hours. After 39 hours the germinating seeds were replanted into fresh germination rolls. The process was repeated at 87 hours after the first measurements were taken. The final measurements were taken at 135 hours. Shoot lengths and root lengths were recorded and overall lengths calculated. Mean shoot, root and overall lengths were expressed as percentages ofthe control using bar graphs. At 87 hours the potency that consistently decreased the growth of Zea Mays was the 13CH. The 12CH potency only decreased the shoot growth, whereas the 14CH improved root growth. At 135 hours overall growth was significantly decreased in all the test groups, but most markedly in the 12CH groups where root growth was drastically inhibited. When compared with the 87th hour measurement, the 13CH group showed a 13% increase in shoot growth. Carbo vegetabilis potencies 12CH, 13CH and 14CH were found to significantly influence the growth of germinating Zea Mays seeds.