Galium aparine PROVING REPORT Director of proving: Léon Scheepers, M.D. ([email protected] ) Conducted between September 2006 – December 2006 at the Homeopathic Centre Antwerp ( www.homeoca.be ) 1 Content: Introduction p. 3 Galium aparine p. 6 Nomenclature p. 6 Botanical description p. 7 Clinical experience p. 9 Homeopathic experience of the family of the Rubiaceae p. 13 Homeopathic experience of Galium aparine p. 14 Proving Homeopathic Center Antwerp p. 18 Prover 1 p. 18 Prover 2 p. 27 Prover 3 p. 40 Prover 4 p. 41 Prover 5 p. 49 Prover 6 p. 56 Prover 7 p. 67 Prover 8 p. 72 General repertorisation p. 82 Themes p. 95 Cured symptoms p. 102 Proving Norland – Fraser p. 102 Common symptoms proving H.C.A. and Norland – Fraser p. 142 References p. 146 2 Introduction: This proving was conducted following the guidelines of subcommittee proving of the E.C.H. ( European Committee of Homoeopathy). • Monocentric : proving was organised in one centre namely the Homoeopathic Centre Antwerp • Non-randomized : everybody knows from everybody that he/she is taking the verum. No placebo was taken. • Double blind: nobody participating at the proving ( provers, supervisor, director) knows the nature of the verum proved. • Non-controlled. No control group/no placebo. • Pre-observation period: observation period of two weeks before the intake of the verum. • No cross-over : only the verum is taking, in a 30K dilution in 6 takes during two days. • Proving takes place under the name of “self-experience” and not under the name “proving” or “medical experiment” because other wise an ethical commission has to give his advice. • Assurance of the participators of the proving is covered through the professional organisation UNIO – Homoeopathica Belgica. That’s why the supervisors and the director of the proving have to be member of this UNIO – Homeopathica Belgica. • During at least three month’s before the start of the proving the prover had not taken any other homeopathic remedy. • Intake with the supervisor before the two weeks observational period is very extensive . Preparation by Piet Sollie, pharmacist at Antwerp Kasteelpleinstraat 22-24, 2100 Antwerp. BELGIUM. Tel.: 00/32/3/237.45.56 Selection of the homoeopathic remedy to prove : Collega X, who is not participating at all at the proving writes down 3 remedies at 3 different papers. These three papers are put in three different envelopes coded with number 1,2 and 3. Pharmacist Piet Sollie opens envelope 1. He prepares remedy 1 if possible. If not, he opens envelope 2. He prepares remedy 2 if possible. If not, he opens envelope 3. The tincture is made following the HAB - method (Homöopatisches Arzneibuch, so following the German farmacopea) 3 According to rule 3a of the HAB 2003 we start from the full plant in blossom. The fresh plant is weight. This plant is crushed and squeezed out. The juice is weight and with ethanol filled up until the original weight. The German farmacopea was used because the European farmcopea is still not complete although several monographs are ready already. In general the German farmacopea is using more plant to prepare the tinctures. 30K dilution was used. Provers : - 8 persons took part at this proving - 2 women and 6 men. - 2 pharmacists without education in classical homeopathy. - 2 medical doctors homeopaths. - 4 patients, non homeopaths. - Age between 36 and 53. - 2 supervisors. Taking of the verum : Taking took place three times a day during two days. Taking has to occur with clean mouth and at least half an hour separated from food. - Morning before breakfast - Noon before or after lunch - Evening before /after diner or before going to sleep. The taking is stopped if : • new severe symptoms appear. • existing complaints or symptoms aggravate. • reappearing of old symptoms existing one or more years before, in a severe way. Prover 7 had to stop intake after the 5th time because of a very heavy reaction. • Provers don’t talk with each others about their symptoms. • Partner is informed about the proving. • Declaration of agreement has to be signed by the prover before he gets the verum of the supervisor. Note of symptoms : • OS: old symptom • NS: new symptom ( not yet experienced before). 4 • AS ( altered symptom): symptom was experienced already before but is different in his appearance, for example as for localisation or as for intensity. • CS ( cured symptom): cured symptoms. Level of evidence. Level I = Positive audit of manifold pathogenesias with control placebo group of the same remedy in ( same dilutions ). Level IIa = Several correspondend pathogenesias ( controlled symptoms) with a placebo controlled group of the same remedy ( same dilutions). Level IIb = One pathogenesia with a placebo controlled group. Level IIIa = Several correspondend pathogenesias (controlled symptoms) of one remedy ( same dilutions!) and/or with the clinical verification of the symptoms. Level IIIb = One pathogenesia realised with a cohorte of provers. Level IV = One pathogenesia with a limited number of provers. The level of evidence of this proving should be IIIb – IV. 8 provers is rather a limited number of provers. 5 GALIUM APARINE Classification following APG II ( Angiosperm Phylogeny Group Classification). CLASS: ANGIOSPERMAE SUBCLASS: DICOTYLEDONAE SUPERORDER: Asteridae – Euasteridae 1 ORDER: GENTIALES FAMILY: RUBIACEA (Apocynaceae, Gelsemiaceae, Gentianaceae, Loganiacea) GENUS: GALIUM SPECIES: Galium aparine (Asperula odorata, Cahinca racemosa, Cephalanthus occidentalis, China officinalis, Chum, Coffea cruda, Coffea tosta, Coffeïnum, Emetinum, Gardenia, Ipecacuana, Ixore, Mitchella repens, Mussaendra, Rubia tinctorum, Uncaria tomentosa ( Cat’s claw), Yohimbinum ). Nomenclature: Catchweed, coachweed, clivers, false cleavers, Gallium aparine , Gallium spurium L., goosegrass, Rubiaceae (family), stickyweed, stickywilly, Turkish: Tirmanici yogurtotu. German: Klettenlabkraut French: Gratteron 6 Most of the plant's popular names are connected with the clinging nature of the herb. Some of its local names are of very old origin, being derived from the Anglo-Saxon 'hedge rife,' meaning a tax gatherer or robber, from its habit of plucking the sheep as they pass near a hedge. The old Greeks gave it the name Philanthropon, from its habit of clinging , and Loveman is merely an Anglicized version of this. Clite, Click, Clith-eren, Clithers are no doubt various forms of Cleavers. Its frequent name, Goosegrass, is a reference to the fact that geese are extremely fond of the herb. It is often collected for the purpose of giving it to poultry. Horses, cows and sheep will also eat it with relish. The specific name of the plant, aparine , also refers to this habit, being derived from the Greek aparo (to seize). The genus name Galium is derived from gala, the Greek word for milk . Greek shepherds used the stems to strain milk, the stalks are still used thus in Sweden. The galiums, especially the Lady's Bedstraw (Galium verum, so named because it was said to have lined Christ's manger) have the quality of curdling milk and have been used as a vegetable rennet. They also, like Madder, have roots that produce a red dye, which gave cheeses such as those from Gloucestershire their rich orange color. Birds that eat them have their bones tinged slightly red. The seeds of Cleavers form one of the best substitutes for coffee; they require simply to be dried and slightly roasted over a fire, and so prepared, have much the flavor of coffee. They have been so used in Sweden. The whole plant gives a decoction equal to tea and it is usually in such a form that it is used herbally. The most economically important species of the family of the Rubiacea is Coffea Arabica . The valuable drug quinine is furnished by several species of Cinchona . Ipecacuanha is the powdered root of another member of this order, growing in the forests of Brazil Botanical description: The members of the genus Galium are all called "cleavers" in North - America, and "goose- grass" in Europe. There are a dozen or more species in the genus, some with leaves six in a whorl, others have only four. Some have flowers yellow, others a dull purple. Not all have identical medicinal properties, for some contain glycyrrhiza-sugar, and others a coloring agent like madder. They belong to the Madder family. This species is found in the woods-a trailing, rough plant, with white lateral flowers, rough seeds, leaves eight in a whorl. These plants are growing in cultivated grounds, moist thickets, and along banks of rivers, and flowering from June till September. Its roots consist of a few hair like fibres, of a reddish color. In the green state some of these plants have an unpleasant odor, others rather the contrary; all are inodorous when dried. They have an acidulous, astringent and bitter taste. They have not been thoroughly analyzed, but chloric acid, galli-tannic acid, citric acid (hence its popular use in scurvy), starch, etc., have been detected in the G. aparine and G. verum. The former contains the most citric, while the latter holds the most galli-tannic acid. Galium aparine is decreed by medical writers to be the officinal plant of this genus. Raflnesque says: " Many other species are probably medicinal, but we only use the Galium aparine and G. verum, common in woods, trailing, rough, with white, lateral flowers and rough seeds." This description, however, will only apply to the former species, as the latter has yellow flowers and smooth seeds. The two species above mentioned are the only ones which have eight leaves in a whorl. Gray thinks it "doubtful if the G. aparine is truly indigenous in our district." And the G. verum was certainly brought here from Europe. Only 7 six species of Galium are mentioned by Gray as indigenous to the United States. Rafinesque, however, says we have "twenty or more species in North America." He thinks the G.