Frequently Asked Questions

Homoeopathy is a medical system built on the principle that ‘like cures like’. It primarily uses potentised remedies to stimulate the body’s own healing functions. The word homoeopathy comes from the Greek words “homoios” (similar) and “patheia” (suffering). The system was founded by Dr Samuel Hahnemann (1755-1843) in 1796.

Autosanguis therapy simply means using blood from a patient as a medicine to treat a condition that the patient is suffering from. The most common ailments treated with autosanguis therapy are allergies and autoimmune diseases. Please refer to the relevant section on our webpage for more information.

Gemmotherapy is a form of phytotherapy, manufactured from embryonic plant material. The young shoots, rootlets or buds of the plant are cut up and left to macerate in a gylcerin and alcohol solution. The resultant solution is then decanted and filtered. Thereafter it is combined with a mixture of glycerine, alcohol and water and succussed to a 1D homoeopathic potency.


Yes. Gemmotherapy is manufactured with glycerine, alcohol and water. There is a concentration of about 27% m/m alcohol present in the final product.

Glycerine (also called glycerol) is a naturally occurring alcohol compound and a component of many lipids. Glycerine may be of animal or vegetable origin. Glycerine tastes sweet, but it is not metabolised as sugar in the body and doesn’t cause a rise in blood glucose levels. For that reason, it is sometimes used as a sweetener in foods marketed to diabetics and low-carb dieters.

Granules and pillules used in homoeopathic remedy manufacture, are made mainly from sucrose, but may contain up to 20% of lactose.

Homoeopathic mother tinctures are essentially defined as the lowest homoeopathic potency and are extracts of the raw plant or herb (occasionally from dried plant) obtained by maceration in ethanol and water. Each mother tincture is manufactured according to the relevant pharmacopoeia.

When manufacturing a mother tincture from fresh plant material, the French Homoeopathic Pharmacopoeia (FHP) calculates the amount of ethanol that has to be added to a plant as 1 part plant material to 10 parts ethanol, whereby the 10 parts are calculated as 10 times the mass to the dried plant material.

The German Homoeopathic Pharmacopoeia (GHP) takes into account that the plant contains moisture and sees this as part of the extraction vehicle. Depending on the moisture content of the starting plant material and the presence of certain actives, a variety of formulas are used to determine the amount of ethanol and water used for the maceration. Therefore, when fresh plants are used, the GHP tinctures are always more concentrated.

In the case where dry plant material is used, the GHP and FHP methods are identical. They both use 1 part dry material to 10 parts ethanol to make the extraction.

The difference now is that the GHP recognises that the medicine is already at a 1:10 dilution and therefore refers to their tinctures in this case as a Ø =D1. The FHP, however, does not follow this principle and only calls theirs a Ø. This has an influence on the next steps of manufacture.

A herbal extract forms the basis for phytotherapy and is manufactured by macerating a dry herb with a variety of quantities of ethanol and water. The amount of ethanol and water used depends on the concentration of actives that one is trying to obtain. In contrast to homoeopathic mother tinctures, the manufacture of a herbal extract does not follow a defined pharmacopoeia, but is rather determined by the desired outcome.

Potentisation, also referred to as dynamisation, is the physical process by which homoeopathic remedies are made.

The process of potentisation is carried out by two methods, both of which include a serial dilution:

  • Trituration – for dry and crude substances
  • Succussion – for liquids

These processes are generally carried out in three scales:


  • Decimal (D/X): Where the ratio of drug to vehicle is 1:10
  • Centesimal (C): Where the ratio of the drug to vehicle is 1:100
  • LM (Q): where the ratio of the drug to vehicle is 1:50 000

Succussion is the mechanical process of potentisation of soluble substances in a liquid vehicle. This is done by firmly striking the bottom of the medicine vial against a firm but elastic surface.

Trituration is the mechanical process of potentisation of a source material that is solid or insoluble. This source material is ground together with lactose. Further potentisation of the remedy can be accomplished with serial dilution of the remedy through further trituration with lactose.

Hahnemannian potentisation is also called multiple-vial potentisation whereby a new vial is used for every new serial potency. The centesimal and decimal ratios (remedy and vehicle) are measured off accurately. A Hahnemannian method potency is often given the signature as CH before or after the potency number.

In contrast, Korsakovian potentisation is also referred to as single-vial potentisation whereby only a single vial is used when making serial dilutions. After succussion, the contents are poured out, and the amount of potency that remains behind after pouring out the contents is considered to be a sufficient amount to make the next potency. The vial is then filled with a new measured amount of vehicle and the process is repeated until the desired potency is achieved. This method can only be used to manufacture centesimal potencies and is given the signature of CK before or after the potency.

Tissue salt therapy was developed by Dr Wilhelm Heinrich Schüssler, a prominent 19th Century German medical doctor. It is based on the fact that the tissues of our body are made up of various salts, and deficiencies of these salts result in a variety of illnesses, both physically and mentally. Tissue salts are manufactured by sequential decimal trituration of the mineral source with lactose.