Plants and fungi used in homeopathy

There is ongoing interest in scientific research to try to establish whether and why approaches such as homeopathy, or Chinese or Indian traditional treatments, are effective or ineffective.

The Museum provides scientific information that enables organisms to be correctly identified. In some cases this information may be used in non-scientific activities, such as homeopathy: this can ensure that scientific research on these activities is supported and that that the use of information is accurate. The theories behind the formulation of homeopathic materials are not scientific and the effectiveness of treatment using these formulations is often questioned from a scientific viewpoint.

This carefully researched database of the plants and fungi used in homeopathy corrects the nomenclature employed and curates information that has been of uncertain reliability in developing over the last two centuries. The database provides a reliable resource for scientific research into alternative therapies that use plants and fungi. Nomenclature is the giving of names to plants according to a set of international rules. This information has never been collated before, and a standard checklist such as this is indispensable for scientific research of homeopathic medicines to be undertaken reliably.

The names used in homeopathy referred to in this database are those long established use in the Homeopathic Materiae Medicae. Online access will allow this standard reference system to be maintained and updated in line with current concepts of Botanical Nomenclature.
This resource will enable exchange of information and also provide a standard reference system for homeopathic practitioners, other users of plant medicinal products, and for those conducting scientific research on these approaches.

What is included ?

The remedies used in homeopathy are mostly derived from angiosperms (flowering plants), though some conifers and ferns as well as fungi, including lichens, brown and red algae are also used. Other homeopathic remedies derive from animals and minerals, but these are not considered here.

History of naming soecies

Homeopathic remedies have accumulated gradually over the past 200 years. During this time, the plants and fungi recorded in the various Homeopathic Materiae Medicae have received a variety of epithets, although these are mostly Latin names. Often, the naming of these plant remedies has not followed any recognised botanical or medical code and, despite having some resemblance to the modern botanical system, nearly half of these names needed updating with respect to the current International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (ICBN; Greuter et al., 2000; McNeill et al., 2006). In response to this problem, of outdated and often inaccurate nomenclature, a new checklist was prepared (Bharatan et al., 2002; Bharatan and Humphries, 2002). This checklist together with this online searchable database of currently accepted names can provide a standard reference that can be updated in line with the revisions of the Botanical Code that take place every 6 years.