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The effect of polar molecules upon water
[9-Jun-2005]
The effect that polar molecules have upon water ought to be of interest to homoeopathic medicine. In a research project intended to sketch out the mechanism by which plant materials retard the setting properties of cements, it emerged that the hydroxyl groups of compounds found in crushed plant materials have a powerful effect upon water.

Plant materials are mostly very large molecules of cellulose, structured with other molecules such as lignin, tannin etc - many of which have hydroxyl groups protruding into space. It's the charged nature of this group, that has a negatively charged oxygen atom attached to a carbon atom at one end and a positively charged hydrogen atom at the other, that should be of particular interest to homoeopathic medicine.

The hydroxyl group attached, for example, to the carbon atom of a sugar molecule, has a dipolar charge which is a result of the electronegative properties of the atomic nuclei forming the group. The oxygen atom has a more powerful effect than the hydrogen atom upon the binding electrons forming the covalent bond between them, resulting in the binding electrons spending more time in the space about the oxygen atom.

The overall effect of the electron distribution is that there's a relative negative pole about the oxygen nuclei, and a positive pole in the space of the hydrogen nuclei. These positive and negative regions have a powerful effect upon other negative and positive poles in the surrounding vicinity. Any positively charged polar entities in such a vicinity will be attracted to the negative poles of the oxygen nuclei. Similarly, any negatively charged entities in proximity will be attracted to the positively charged hydrogen atom.

Such hydroxyl groups are chemically attached to the carbon atoms of the larger polyhydroxy molecules. These hydroxyl molecules thus have a fixed shape and form that relates to the position of the carbon atoms forming the larger molecules, so that foci of positive and negative charges have specific regions of influence, that reflect upon their position on the larger molecules.

The influence that these fixed charged sites have upon the surrounding molecules results in a structured alignment between the fixed hydroxyl groups and, for example, water molecules in close proximity. Hydrogen bonds are formed between the polar groups, and water nuclei that extend well beyond the immediate influence of the polar charges. The effect extends in three dimensions, to provide a lattice of water molecules, loosely arranged in space surrounding the template molecules. The water molecules therefore take up a fixed shape, reflecting the space and form of the template molecules.

Cross-referencing the concept, it became clear that glycobiologists know that water molecules adopt the shape of glucose molecules in solution. They state that the effect is so precise, that if it were possible to extract the glucose molecule from such an arrangement, then the shape and form of the aligned water molecules would exactly reflect the shape and form of the glucose template.

Given that charged entities exist in many molecules found in nature, it becomes of interest to homoeopathic medicine to provide evidence that polar effects can fixate water in specific configurations, that reflect medicines. As the above alignment of water will occur about any polar group, it doesn't matter how low the concentration of the template molecules is, in any given sample.

Forming bonds requires energy. But once the bonds are formed, energy is also needed to break them - so that once the water alignment is fixed in its three dimensional space and form, the assembly of water molecules mimicking the shape and form of reactive sites should be retained in solution. The way that homoeopathic medicine could work, is to drink water which is seeded with template molecules, known to be useful in containing given problems.

The hydrogen-bonded assemblage of water, in proximity to complementary polar ends of target molecules, would be attracted to sites identical to the target molecules - blocking the approach to such sites, and preventing target molecules from exercising their effect. What's needed are sophisticated facilities, to test the concept using specified molecules.

Branko Richard Babic, UK

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Peter Fisher
Royal London Homoeopathic Hospital
Mark Henderson
The Times (London)
Charles Pither
RealHealth Institute
Michael Baum
University College London
Robert Harland
Institute of Psychiatry
Lynda Hunter
UK Reiki Federation
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Useful resources
Wellcome Trust policy on complementary and alternative medicine

WHO factsheet traditional healing practices

Complementary and alternative medicine
UK Department of Health


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