Water & Homeopthy
Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2001 8:37 pm
From www.martin.chaplin.btinternet.co.uk
Homeopathy
A hypothesis
Belief in whether or not dilution and shaking can have any effect on the health benefits of water depends on the presence of a working hypothesis for the mode of action (see also magnetic effects). In spite of many (most?) people knowing of success stories (and the opposite) concerning the use of homeopathy where it is practiced [120], scientists have difficulty in regarding this form of alternative medicine as any more than a placebo effect. A controversial paper in Nature [132], purporting to prove the efficacy of extreme dilution (the 'memory of water') has not been generally accepted, even though confirmed by some other laboratories (but not all), after their results failed to be reproducible under closely controlled and observed conditions [133]. A meta-analysis of 89 placebo-controlled trials failed to prove either that homeopathy was efficacious for any single clinical condition or that its positive clinical effects could entirely be due to a placebo effect [121], thus leaving the scientific door open both ways. Many laugh it out of serious consideration. One of the main reasons concerning this disbelief in the efficacy of homeopathy lies in the difficulty in understanding how it might work. If there was an acceptable theory then more people would consider it more seriously.
It is difficult at present to sustain a theory as to why a truly infinitely diluted aqueous solution should retain any difference from any other such solution. It is even more difficult to put forward a working hypothesis as to how small quantities of such 'solutions' can act when confronted with large amounts of complex solution in a subject.
As to the first of these difficulties, there is a similar strange occurrence in enzyme chemistry where an effectively non-existent material still has a major effect; enzymes prepared in buffers of known pH retain (remember) those specific pH-dependent kinetic properties even when effectively dry; these molecules seemingly having an effect in their absence somewhat against common sense at the simplistic level. Water does store and transmit information, concerning solutes, by means of its hydrogen-bonded network. Changes to this clustering network brought about by solutes may take some time to re-equilibrate. Shaking (succussion) may also have an effect on the hydrogen bonded network and the gaseous solutes. Dilution is never perfect, particularly at low concentrations where surface absorption may well be a major factor, so that dilution beyond the levels that can be analytically determined remains unproven. Remaining material may be responsible for perceived differences between preparations and activity. Of course the water used for dilution is not pure relative to the putative concentration of the 'active' ingredient; even the purest water should be considered grossly contaminated. This contamination may well have a major influence, and itself be influenced by the structuring in the water it encounters. In a clinical trial, however, it does seem unlikely that this water should be significantly different from a proper aqueous control.
Explanation of homeopathy on the basis of water crystals (IE, [124, 125]) is unconvincing as such crystals appear to be artifacts and, even as proposed, the effect of body fluid ions would be to immediately 'dissolve' them. A major problem in this area is that, without a testable hypothesis for the potency of homeopathy, there is a growing possibility of fraud, as perhaps evidenced by the increasing use of the internet to advertise 'healthy' water concentrates using dubious (sometimes published but irreproducible) scientific and spiritual evidence.
More recently, IE (ice formed by electric field forces) crystals (mm x 100 nm diameter) have been proposed to form around ions due to their electric field [124, 125]. It is also proposed that these 'spherically symmetrical crystals' can be broken by shaking to seed further crystal formation, although this seems more likely to cause the loss of water molecules from the surface (peeling) rather than the release of fragments. The ions must be dilute (< 10-5 M) to prevent ions 'interacting' (reducing the electric field gradient) before crystals have time to form. The crystals are proposed to have 20% lower dielectric than water. These IE crystals are now thought to be completely artifactual with the term 'crystals' now being replaced by 'water clusters'. Even with this change, the theories are not generally accepted and no ice phase is formed above 0°C below 632 MPa. The presence of extensive hydrogen-bonded clusters in less-than-pure water containing additional hydrophobic solutes, however, is quite reasonable.
Very recently there has been an explosion of internet sites and sales outlets concerned with 'declustered' water and its production. Generally these concern the promotion and sale of relatively expensive water preparations for their health benefit. These appear to be related to Lorenzen's 'microclustered' water [164] or Hayashi's 'microwater' [111]. Lorenzen prepared such water by passing steam across a magnetic fielda (using magnetite), exposing it to light/radiation with a wavelength between 610 nm and 1mm (preferably monochromatic at 640 nm) and adding materials such as 3 - 4 ppm metasilicate, up to 1% yeast cells and gas under pressure. His patents claim such water may be diluted by between 103 and 1020 times. A similar product (Willards water) also utilises silicates and surfactants [193]. Hayashi prepared his water by electrolysis using the reduced and oxidised streams for different purposes. The reported reduction in water clustering is determined by means of changes in the width (at half peak height) of the 17O NMR resonance signal from above 100 Hz to below 100 Hz. Other conditions being equal this width is expected to give a measure of the strength of the clustering as motionally hindered water has faster relaxation kinetics and hence should give a greater 17O NMR resonance signal width. However these samples are not pure water samples as they have high (supersaturated) gas concentrations and may contain other additives. The widths do not appear to change reproducibly as Hayashi reports a width for impure water of 105 Hz but Lorenzen reports the width for distilled and triple distilled water as higher at 130 Hz and 115 Hz respectively. Unfortunately the data reported by Lorenzen and Hayashi is sparse and does not include any statistical data or precise experimental conditions. Also there does not seem to be much other data reported in the literature concerning the effect of solutes on the width of this resonance or its reproducibility. Nor is there any unanimity on what cluster size any reduction in the width might indicate. Other unanswered questions concern (a) whether it is the strength or extent of the hydrogen bonding that is important, (b) if extent is important, is it the mean number of hydrogen bonds each water molecule participates in or the mean cluster size of fully satisfied hydrogen bonded water molecules that is important, (c) if strength is important, is it the mean strength of all the bonds around a water molecule or only the strongest of these, (d) what is the effect of the distribution of hydrogen bond strengths (or extents), and (e) how long do any effects lastb. More importantly, controlled clinical trials are lacking so that all sales patter extolling the health-giving virtue of such water involves the (scientifically irrelevant and basically biased) use of testimonials. Further critical examination of this area is available at another site.
a It has been shown that a high magnetic field has an insignificant effect on the equilibrium content of dissolved oxygen but does significantly enhance its dissolution rate [176]. [Back]
b There is one report that magnetically treated water (also from the same laboratory, electromagnetically treated water) retains a significantly changed effect on fungal spore germination for at least 24 hours [174]; however other parameters (e.g. reduced dissolved oxygen levels) may be responsible for such effects. [Back]
Please submit any comments and suggestions you may have.
Water: Home | School of Applied Science | South Bank University
This page was last updated by Martin Chaplin
on 11 June 2001
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Homeopathy
A hypothesis
Belief in whether or not dilution and shaking can have any effect on the health benefits of water depends on the presence of a working hypothesis for the mode of action (see also magnetic effects). In spite of many (most?) people knowing of success stories (and the opposite) concerning the use of homeopathy where it is practiced [120], scientists have difficulty in regarding this form of alternative medicine as any more than a placebo effect. A controversial paper in Nature [132], purporting to prove the efficacy of extreme dilution (the 'memory of water') has not been generally accepted, even though confirmed by some other laboratories (but not all), after their results failed to be reproducible under closely controlled and observed conditions [133]. A meta-analysis of 89 placebo-controlled trials failed to prove either that homeopathy was efficacious for any single clinical condition or that its positive clinical effects could entirely be due to a placebo effect [121], thus leaving the scientific door open both ways. Many laugh it out of serious consideration. One of the main reasons concerning this disbelief in the efficacy of homeopathy lies in the difficulty in understanding how it might work. If there was an acceptable theory then more people would consider it more seriously.
It is difficult at present to sustain a theory as to why a truly infinitely diluted aqueous solution should retain any difference from any other such solution. It is even more difficult to put forward a working hypothesis as to how small quantities of such 'solutions' can act when confronted with large amounts of complex solution in a subject.
As to the first of these difficulties, there is a similar strange occurrence in enzyme chemistry where an effectively non-existent material still has a major effect; enzymes prepared in buffers of known pH retain (remember) those specific pH-dependent kinetic properties even when effectively dry; these molecules seemingly having an effect in their absence somewhat against common sense at the simplistic level. Water does store and transmit information, concerning solutes, by means of its hydrogen-bonded network. Changes to this clustering network brought about by solutes may take some time to re-equilibrate. Shaking (succussion) may also have an effect on the hydrogen bonded network and the gaseous solutes. Dilution is never perfect, particularly at low concentrations where surface absorption may well be a major factor, so that dilution beyond the levels that can be analytically determined remains unproven. Remaining material may be responsible for perceived differences between preparations and activity. Of course the water used for dilution is not pure relative to the putative concentration of the 'active' ingredient; even the purest water should be considered grossly contaminated. This contamination may well have a major influence, and itself be influenced by the structuring in the water it encounters. In a clinical trial, however, it does seem unlikely that this water should be significantly different from a proper aqueous control.
Explanation of homeopathy on the basis of water crystals (IE, [124, 125]) is unconvincing as such crystals appear to be artifacts and, even as proposed, the effect of body fluid ions would be to immediately 'dissolve' them. A major problem in this area is that, without a testable hypothesis for the potency of homeopathy, there is a growing possibility of fraud, as perhaps evidenced by the increasing use of the internet to advertise 'healthy' water concentrates using dubious (sometimes published but irreproducible) scientific and spiritual evidence.
More recently, IE (ice formed by electric field forces) crystals (mm x 100 nm diameter) have been proposed to form around ions due to their electric field [124, 125]. It is also proposed that these 'spherically symmetrical crystals' can be broken by shaking to seed further crystal formation, although this seems more likely to cause the loss of water molecules from the surface (peeling) rather than the release of fragments. The ions must be dilute (< 10-5 M) to prevent ions 'interacting' (reducing the electric field gradient) before crystals have time to form. The crystals are proposed to have 20% lower dielectric than water. These IE crystals are now thought to be completely artifactual with the term 'crystals' now being replaced by 'water clusters'. Even with this change, the theories are not generally accepted and no ice phase is formed above 0°C below 632 MPa. The presence of extensive hydrogen-bonded clusters in less-than-pure water containing additional hydrophobic solutes, however, is quite reasonable.
Very recently there has been an explosion of internet sites and sales outlets concerned with 'declustered' water and its production. Generally these concern the promotion and sale of relatively expensive water preparations for their health benefit. These appear to be related to Lorenzen's 'microclustered' water [164] or Hayashi's 'microwater' [111]. Lorenzen prepared such water by passing steam across a magnetic fielda (using magnetite), exposing it to light/radiation with a wavelength between 610 nm and 1mm (preferably monochromatic at 640 nm) and adding materials such as 3 - 4 ppm metasilicate, up to 1% yeast cells and gas under pressure. His patents claim such water may be diluted by between 103 and 1020 times. A similar product (Willards water) also utilises silicates and surfactants [193]. Hayashi prepared his water by electrolysis using the reduced and oxidised streams for different purposes. The reported reduction in water clustering is determined by means of changes in the width (at half peak height) of the 17O NMR resonance signal from above 100 Hz to below 100 Hz. Other conditions being equal this width is expected to give a measure of the strength of the clustering as motionally hindered water has faster relaxation kinetics and hence should give a greater 17O NMR resonance signal width. However these samples are not pure water samples as they have high (supersaturated) gas concentrations and may contain other additives. The widths do not appear to change reproducibly as Hayashi reports a width for impure water of 105 Hz but Lorenzen reports the width for distilled and triple distilled water as higher at 130 Hz and 115 Hz respectively. Unfortunately the data reported by Lorenzen and Hayashi is sparse and does not include any statistical data or precise experimental conditions. Also there does not seem to be much other data reported in the literature concerning the effect of solutes on the width of this resonance or its reproducibility. Nor is there any unanimity on what cluster size any reduction in the width might indicate. Other unanswered questions concern (a) whether it is the strength or extent of the hydrogen bonding that is important, (b) if extent is important, is it the mean number of hydrogen bonds each water molecule participates in or the mean cluster size of fully satisfied hydrogen bonded water molecules that is important, (c) if strength is important, is it the mean strength of all the bonds around a water molecule or only the strongest of these, (d) what is the effect of the distribution of hydrogen bond strengths (or extents), and (e) how long do any effects lastb. More importantly, controlled clinical trials are lacking so that all sales patter extolling the health-giving virtue of such water involves the (scientifically irrelevant and basically biased) use of testimonials. Further critical examination of this area is available at another site.
a It has been shown that a high magnetic field has an insignificant effect on the equilibrium content of dissolved oxygen but does significantly enhance its dissolution rate [176]. [Back]
b There is one report that magnetically treated water (also from the same laboratory, electromagnetically treated water) retains a significantly changed effect on fungal spore germination for at least 24 hours [174]; however other parameters (e.g. reduced dissolved oxygen levels) may be responsible for such effects. [Back]
Please submit any comments and suggestions you may have.
Water: Home | School of Applied Science | South Bank University
This page was last updated by Martin Chaplin
on 11 June 2001
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]