Homeopathic medicine from snake venom can arrest spread of HIV, claim researchers

Homeopathic medicine made from venom of rattlesnake can arrest spread of HIV, researchers said at a World Homeopathy Summit in New Delhi on Saturday.

Research by doctors of Hyderabad-based JSPS Government Homeopathic Medical College and Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT) has positively shown homeopathic medicine from snake venom, Crotalus Horridus, can arrest the multiplication of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

According to Dr Praveen Kumar, Head of Department of Practice of Medicine at JSPS College, Crotalus Horridus has inhibited reverse transcriptase (RT), an enzyme which is utilised by viruses like HIV and Hepatitis-B to convert the viral RNA into viral DNA so that they multiply into billions and wreck patients.

The two-day summit organised by Global Homeopathy Foundation (GHF) saw gathering of scientists and practitioners from India and abroad seeking to dispel the myth and disinformation by a section that 'homeopathy is a humbug' and that it has only a placebo effect.

The Central Council for Research in Homeopathy (CCRH), a premium government body under AYUSH, is partnering with GHF for the summit at which scientists from eminent institutes of pure science such as IIT-B, ICMR, TIFR, BARC, Haffkine, and ICT also presented their study reports.

"The summit should bring about a paradigm shift in the way the world looks at homeopathy and shock even some practicing homeopaths who believed that the medicines had some energy effect," said Dr Rajesh Shah, organising secretary of the Foundation.

For years, homeopathy has been adapting the process of converting snake venom and poison from deadly scorpions, spiders and wild bees into medicinal substances by transforming them into nano-particles that have proved safe and effective for patients, Dr Shah said.

"As a virologist, I was surprised to learn that homeopathy also sources medicines from virus, bacteria and parasites, long before microbiology was fully developed," remarked Dr Abhay Chaudhary, Director Haffkine Institute, which makes polio vaccine in India.

The research by Dr Kanjaksha Ghosh of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), National Institute of Immuno Hematology (NIIH) and Dr Tapas Kundu, showed that homeopathy demonstrated positive results in patients of Hemophilia - a deadly blood disease that leads to uncontrolled bleeding that cannot be managed with regular medicines.