Low-potential homeopathic medicines: historical review and comparative analysis with allopathic and phytotherapeutic approaches

The relevance of the work is due to the ongoing discussion about the place of homeopathic medicines in the system of evidence-based medicine, as well as the need to distinguish approaches to low and high dilutions.

The aim. To systematize information on the use of low homeopathic dilutions; to conduct a comparative group characterization of low-potential homeopathic medicines with allopathic and phytotherapeutic drugs; to identify promising areas for further research.

Materials and methods. The data was analyzed, including historical information, theoretical concepts, experimental and clinical studies, as well as regulatory and regulatory documents. The key stages and strategies of using homeopathic remedies in various dilutions are highlighted. The literature was searched in the electronic databases PubMed/MEDLINE, eLibrary for the period from 1990 to 2025. Queries such as “low dilutions homeopathy”, “low potency homeopathy”, “homotoxicology”, “ultra-high dilutions”, “homeopathic low potencies”, “antihomotoxic therapy” were used. The review included original experimental studies of low-potential homeopathic medicines, clinical studies of complex homeopathic medicines, systematic reviews and meta-analyses, historical and theoretical works on homeopathy, physico-chemical studies of homeopathic dilutions, regulatory documents and economic reviews. The review excluded studies on high and ultra-high dilutions without comparison with low potentials; individual clinical cases; conference abstracts; works in which there was no clear indication of the potency used.

Results. According to the main pharmacological criteria, low-potential complex preparations occupy an intermediate position between classical homeopathy on the one hand and allopathic/phytotherapeutic agents on the other. Their effects may have a rational explanation within the framework of hormesis and the direct action of small doses. There are separate RCTs demonstrating the effectiveness of complex drugs, but the overall level of evidence remains lower than for allopathic drugs. In order to formulate definitive conclusions about the place of low-potential homeopathic medicines, large-scale methodologically impeccable clinical studies are needed, as well as continuing the search for confirmation of their mechanisms of action, in particular, in the field of nanopharmacology.

Conclusion. The path to the widespread use of low-potential homeopathic remedies in modern medicine lies through the normative separation of low and high homeopathic dilutions, conducting high-quality clinical trials with rigid endpoints.

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