Sources of materia medica

1. SOURCES OF THE HOMOEOPATHIC
MATERIA MEDICA
P chanikya

2. MATERIA MEDICA
• Homoeopathic Materia Medica is a compilation of various symptoms collected
mainly from proving from healthy human beings and from other sources.

3. SOURCES OF HOMOEOPATHIC
MATERIA MEDICA.
• Empirical source
• Doctrine of signature
• Accidental source
• Proving on healthy human beings
• Clinical observation
• Toxicological source
• Chemical/Biological source
• Proving on plants
• Proving on healthy animals

4. EMPIRICAL SOURCE:
• It is traditional source.
• This can be observed from the general therapeutic study of the medicine.
• In olden days, the medicinal values of many medicines were known.
• Guess work or fiction

5. DOCTRINE OF SIGNATURE:
• Relation between the external physical properties of the drug
substance and the signs and symptoms present in the patient.
• This is present in a few drugs and by studying it we can study the
pathogenesis and symptomatology of those drugs to a certain
extent.

6. DOCTRINE OF SIGNATURE:
• Yellow flowers of Chelidonium acts well in jaundice.
• Red looking plants or red extracts act well on blood.
• Tarentula Hispania is prepared from the Spanish spider which is very sensitive
to drum beats, similarly patient is oversensitive to music.

7. DOCTRINE OF SIGNATURE:
• E.g. Hypericum Perforatum
• The leaves of this plant have multiple perforations, seen when the
leaf is held in front of the sun.Hence the drug proved to be of great
use in perforating injuries.
E.g. Euphrasia
• The petals of its flower have a black spot on them, resemblance to
the human pupil.
• Hence Euphrasia - good drug for eye complaints.

8. ACCIDENTAL SOURCE:
• Medicines prepared from substances whose curative action is
discovered accidentally,
• E.g. Blatta Orientalis in asthma
• Physostigma - group of children - Liver pool ate beans, found on a
ship-. Led to loss of muscular power, prostration and feeble slow
pulse in 2/3rds, and produced cold and diarrhea in one third of
them.These symptoms were later considered as curative symptoms
of the drug
• Mercury –venereal diseases

9. CHEMICAL SOURCE:
• Knowledge of chemistry. I.e. physical and chemical properties
• Knowledge of the signs and symptoms of the drug by the.Action
etc.;
• The actual signs and symptoms produced by the drugs in the body
while proving may be different.
• by studying the chemistry of the drugs we can get some idea of its
action on the body

10. CHEMICAL SOURCE:
• Eg-Acids have a corrosive, violent action on any
tissue and leads to burning, inflammation, ulceration,
excoriation with fetidness and putrefaction.
For e.g. Carbolic acid
• Profound prostration, collapse; surface pale and
bathed in cold sweat,
• Pains are terrible; come suddenly, last a short time,
disappear suddenly
• Putrid, offensive discharges
• These highlight the fetidness and putrefaction that is
common to all acids.

11. TOXICOLOGICAL SOURCE:
• Signs and symptoms due to the toxic effect of the drugs
• Where overdosing has occurred.
• Helpful in understanding the action of the drug upto some extent.

12. PROVING ON HEALTHY ANIMALS:
• Proving on lower animals we get the knowledge of the pathological changes
occurring in the animal body .
• Few objective symptoms are also available

13. PROVING ON PLANTS:
• Proving of drugs on plants. .
• Study the changes taking place on the morphological and histological planes.
• Idea of the pathological symptoms produced by the medicine can be on
obtained.

14. CLINICAL OBSERVATION:
• In practice after prescribing
of the medicine to the patient,
• New symptoms produced by the medicine which have not been produced by
the medicine while its proving.
• These are clinical symptoms and they also help in building the Materia Medica

15. PROVING ON HEALTHY HUMAN BEINGS:
• Obtain signs & symptoms of homoeopathic medicines
• Real and most scientific way of getting signs and symptoms of the medicine.
• Recording can be done in a systematic way.
• Most reliable source to build Materia Medica.

16. DRUG PROVING
Drug Proving now termed, as Homoeopathic Pathogenetic Trials
(HPT) is a process in which drug substances are put into trial over
healthy volunteers and their pathogenetic effects are observed and
noted for therapeutic purposes
Study the effects of medicinal substance on healthy human beings
to understand the various properties of the drugs.

17. DRUG PROVING
• Unique method,
• Natures law of cure i.e., a drugs capacity for eradicating a disease, lies in its
capacity to produce the same in healthy organism.
• Similia Similibus Curentur - likes are cured by likes

18. DRUG PROVING
• METHODOLOGY
• Double Blind Technique
• healthy human beings selected
• Case taking –selection of Ideal Prover
• Randomised sample selection- different regions, socio-economic strata, religion
& food habits

19. DRUG PROVING
Pre-trial medical examination:-
conducted by Honorary Consultants-Medicine, Medicine, Psychiatry,
Ophthalmology, Otorhino-laryngology, Dermatology, Pathology and
Gynaecology (in case of female provers).
• Coded Drugs-
Drugs are provided to the provers in coded phials

20. DRUG PROVING
• Grouping- placebo & actual drug to distinguish between the false and true
symptoms.
• Recording of the symptoms
by each prover in prover day book

21. DRUG PROVING
• The Proving Master analyses &records the responses of the provers in the
prescribed proforma.
• Post Trial evaluation of provers by honourary consultants

22. DRUG PROVING
• The data collected during the course of provings is processed,analyzed and
compiled at Central Drug Proving-cum-Data Processing Cell
• later on published for the use of the profession

23. DRUG PROVING
• Reliability???
Authenticity ???

24. DRUG PROVING
• Source of drug substance-
Preparation-
-maintaining -optimum conditions,
-standardization of preparation

25. DRUG PROVING
• Prover –
Ideal prover-
Healthy- ? Apparently healthy
Education status

26. DRUG PROVING
• Willingness/motivation of prover
Acedemic
Monetary
Forced
Voluntary participation

27. DRUG PROVING
• Consent form
• Patient information sheet
• Rights of participant

28. DRUG PROVING
• Meticulousness of prover
• Authenticty – of data

29. DRUG PROVING
• Proving Master
• Collection of Data
• Meticulousness in data collection and processing

30. DRUG PROVING
• Proving Master
• Aim of study
• Authenticity of data published
• Negative and positive findings

31. DRUG PROVING
• Proving Master-
• Management of aggravations
• Taking responsibility
• Abiding by ethics

32. DRUG PROVING
• Study can only be conducted at physiological plane
Post trial follow ups for long duration necessary

33. DRUG PROVING
DEDICATION
DETERMINATION
DELIGENCE

34. THANK YOU