otential Pitfalls on the Physiological (Osmotic Fragility) Properties of the Red Blood Cell: Action of a Homeopathic Medicine

Hypericum perforatum (Hypericum p.) is a medicinal herb worldwide, primarily as a containing many polyphenolic compounds, popularly called St. John’s wort or in homeopathic nomenclature of thousand needles plant. It active principle is the hipericin. Hypericum p. has been used in popular medicine since ancient times for several disorders such as skin wounds, eczema, burns, and diseases of the alimentary tract, insomnia, and mental illness, among others as well as in intolerable pains. The capability of red blood cells (RBC) to resist hemolysis characterizes what is called the osmotic fragility (OF) of the membrane. We have investigated the possibility that hypericum perforatum dinamized homeopathicly is capable of altering the physiological properties as RBC-OF. Briefly, blood samples were incubated with a hypericum perforatum 6CH or with sodium chloride solution (0,90% NaCl) as a control for 60 minutes at room temperature. Samples (25µl), were gently mixed with hypotonic NaCl (from 0.12 to 0.90%), centrifuged and the supernatants were isolated to determine the optical density (OD) in a spectrophotometer (540nm). Statistical analysis was performed. Osmotic fragility was significantly (p<0.05) changed by the presence of the Hypericum perforatum 6CH in the isotonic concentrations. Finally, the alterations to RBC membrane transport mechanisms were sufficient to promote modifications in osmotic fragility. Our results suggest that, the chemical results of Hypericum perforatum 6CH could be responsible for the observed effects.