Arabidopsis thaliana Infected with Pseudomonas syringae
Posted: 11 Nov 2014, 16:32
Homeopathic Treatment of Arabidopsis thaliana Plants Infected with Pseudomonas syringae
Devika Shah-Rossi, Peter Heusser, and Stephan Baumgartner
Homeopathic basic research is still in the screening phase to identify promising model
systems that are adapted to the needs and peculiarities of homeopathic medicine and
pharmacy. We investigated the potential of a common plant-pathogen system,
Arabidopsis thaliana infected with the virulent bacteria Pseudomonas syringae,
regarding its response towards a homeopathic treatment. A. thaliana plants were treated
with homeopathic preparations before and after infection. Outcome measure was the
number of P. syringae bacteria in the leaves of A. thaliana, assessed in randomized and
blinded experiments. After a screening of 30 homeopathic preparations, we investigated
the effect of Carbo vegetabilis 30x, Magnesium phosphoricum 30x, Nosode 30x, Biplantol
(a homeopathic complex remedy), and Biplantol 30x on the infection rate in five or six
independent experiments in total. The screening yielded significant effects for four out of
30 tested preparations. In the repeated experimental series, only the homeopathic
complex remedy Biplantol induced a significant reduction of the infection rate (p = 0.01;
effect size, d = 0.38). None of the other four repeatedly tested preparations (Carbo
vegetabilis 30x, Magnesium phosphoricum 30x, Nosode 30x, Biplantol 30x) yielded
significant effects in the overall evaluation. This phytopathological model yielded a small
to medium effect size and thus might be of interest for homeopathic basic research after
further improvement. Compared to Bion (a common SAR inducer used as positive
control), the magnitude of the treatment effect of Biplantol was about 50%. Thus,
homeopathic formulations might have a potential for the treatment of plant diseases after
further optimization. However, the ecological impact should be investigated more closely
before widespread application.
KEYWORDS: Pseudomonas syringae, plant disease, systemic acquired resistance (SAR),
homeopathy
Devika Shah-Rossi, Peter Heusser, and Stephan Baumgartner
Homeopathic basic research is still in the screening phase to identify promising model
systems that are adapted to the needs and peculiarities of homeopathic medicine and
pharmacy. We investigated the potential of a common plant-pathogen system,
Arabidopsis thaliana infected with the virulent bacteria Pseudomonas syringae,
regarding its response towards a homeopathic treatment. A. thaliana plants were treated
with homeopathic preparations before and after infection. Outcome measure was the
number of P. syringae bacteria in the leaves of A. thaliana, assessed in randomized and
blinded experiments. After a screening of 30 homeopathic preparations, we investigated
the effect of Carbo vegetabilis 30x, Magnesium phosphoricum 30x, Nosode 30x, Biplantol
(a homeopathic complex remedy), and Biplantol 30x on the infection rate in five or six
independent experiments in total. The screening yielded significant effects for four out of
30 tested preparations. In the repeated experimental series, only the homeopathic
complex remedy Biplantol induced a significant reduction of the infection rate (p = 0.01;
effect size, d = 0.38). None of the other four repeatedly tested preparations (Carbo
vegetabilis 30x, Magnesium phosphoricum 30x, Nosode 30x, Biplantol 30x) yielded
significant effects in the overall evaluation. This phytopathological model yielded a small
to medium effect size and thus might be of interest for homeopathic basic research after
further improvement. Compared to Bion (a common SAR inducer used as positive
control), the magnitude of the treatment effect of Biplantol was about 50%. Thus,
homeopathic formulations might have a potential for the treatment of plant diseases after
further optimization. However, the ecological impact should be investigated more closely
before widespread application.
KEYWORDS: Pseudomonas syringae, plant disease, systemic acquired resistance (SAR),
homeopathy