Interaction between Solvatochromic Dyes and Water Sampled from a Natural Source Treated with High Dilutions of Phosphorus.

BACKGROUND: Highly diluted and succussed solutions interact with solvatochromic dyes, indicating that changes in solvent and solute polarity could be related to their mechanism of action. It is not known, however, how the activity associated with succussed high dilutions is transferred to untreated water and what the limits of this process are. AIMS: The aims of the present study were to ascertain whether a succussed high dilution of phosphorus (1.5 × 1-59 M; Phos 30cH) seeded into a natural water source that fed a fjord and two connected lakes could propagate itself through the lake system (total volume 2200 m3) and, moreover, whether the process could be tracked using solvatochromic dyes. METHODS: Samples of water were collected before and after seeding, at different times and places throughout the lake system. Controls comprised water taken from an untreated and adjacent, but independent, lake (1385 m3). RESULTS: Water samples taken up to 72 hours after the source treatment produced significant increases (p ≤ 0.03) in the absorbance of the solvatochromic dye methylene violet (MV), while samples from the control lake produced no changes. CONCLUSIONS: The study indicates that activity associated with Phos 30c can propagate itself through large volumes of water, causing changes throughout a whole connected lake system, and that these changes can be tracked using the solvatochromic dye MV. This in turn means the use of homeopathic medicines in large volumes of drinking water, in farming and ecological contexts, now has the potential to be assessed with physico-chemical monitoring.

Interference of Seasonal Variation on the Antimicrobial and Cytotoxic Activities of the Essential Oils from the Leaves of Iryanthera polyneura in the Amazon Rain Forest.

The essential oils (EOs) obtained from the leaves of Iryanthera polyneura Ducke trees was chemically Assessed and tested for the ability of inhibiting the growth of Candida albicans, Enterococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus mutans and S. sanguinis. The oil was also tested against breast (MCF-7) and prostate (PC-3) cancer cell lines. Minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBCs) and 50 % inhibition concentrations (IC50 ) values were obtained. EOs were active against Gram-positive bacteria. Spathulenol, α-cadinol and τ-muurolol were major components of EOs. The oils showed a higher cytotoxicity against PC-3 than MCF-7 cells, although the oils were active against both cell types. Oils obtained from leaves collected in the dry season were more active against E. faecalis, S. aureus and PC-3, while the oils obtained from leaves collected in the rainy season were more active against S. mutans, S. sanguinis and MCF-7. The antibacterial and cytotoxic activities of the essential oils from the leaves of I. polyneura are related to the seasonal climate variation and are influenced by compounds that are minor components of the oils.