CHED 458 |
| Homeopathic remedies made in water were studied via high sensitivity proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. 57 remedy samples representing six starting materials and spanning potencies from 6C to 10M were tested along with 46 controls. By presaturating on the water peak, signals could be reliably detected that represented H-containing species at concentrations above 5 ìM. There were 35 positions where a discrete signal was seen in one or more of the 103 spectra, which should theoretically have been absent from the spectrum of pure water. Of these 35, fifteen were identified as machine-generated artifacts, eight were identified as trace levels of organic contaminants, and twelve were unexplained. Of the unexplained signals, six were seen in just one spectrum each. None of the artifacts or unexplained signals occurred more frequently in remedies than in controls, using a p<.05 cutoff. Some commercially prepared samples were found to contain traces of one or more of these small organic molecules: ethanol, acetate, formate, methanol, and acetone. |
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Pseudoscience: What It Is and What It Is Not
8:30 AM-11:55 AM, Wednesday, 13 September 2006 San Francisco Marriott -- Salon 11, Oral
Division of Chemical Education |