Effectiveness of different preparations homeopathic Arnica montana experimental treatment of poisoning with poison Philodryas olfersii

Abstract

The administration of antivenom is not recommended in poisonings caused by snakes of the species Philodryas olfersii, thus, any homeopathic or allopathic treatment may ultimately contribute to the brief recovery of patients. The aim of this work is to study the effects of different preparations of Arnica montana 6cH in experimental poisoning with the P. olfersii venom in mice. Therefore, adult male Swiss mice were blindly inoculated into the footpad with P. olfersii venom and treated with Arnica montana 6cH prepared by conventional method and by a magnetic simulator device of commercial use – MSD (OAK®). The vehicle control group was treated with succussed hydro-alcoholic solution. The negative control group received no treatment. The development of inflammatory edema generated within 24 hours was evaluated. During the tests the following behavioral data was recorded: • Animals treated with Arnica 6cH-MSD remained calm, quiet, eating a little, drinking a little water and slept most of the time; • Animals treated with conventional Arnica 6cH got always more hectic after venom inoculation up to 2 hours later, when compared to the animals from the other groups during handling. They licked the paw after inoculation, which might be a sign of pain. • Animals from untreated control were more agitated when compared to other groups, licking his paw where the poison was inoculated during all the experimental time. They moved a lot, fought, ate and drank well, hung up on the grid. The edema evolution after the venom inoculation showed no significant differences among groups. Table 1 shows the average and standard deviation of the thickness (edema) of the footpad. The use of magnetic devices instead of conventional homeopathic medicines is still controversial and deserver further studies.