Antibacterial Activity of Homoeopathic Medicines on Streptococcus Pyogenes: An In Vitro Study
Introduction: Streptococcus pyogenes is one of the common causes of pharyngo-tonsillar infections of childhood. The infection does not limit to pharyngeal infections only, rather affects vital organs to develop different conditions like acute glomerulonephritis, Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD), toxic shock syndrome, generalized sepsis, necrotizing fasciitis etc. Its ever increasing virulence due to frequent mutations makes it a prime cause of infant mortality throughout the globe. Gradual emergence of antibiotic resistance has become a new contributing factor to increased burden of streptococcal diseases. Methods: In this experiment some commonly prescribed homeopathic medicines were studied to find out their efficacy against S. pyogenes. In this experiment, the Growth Inhibition Zones (GIZ) of different homeopathic medicines in three different potencies were measured against S. pyogenes. Results: The results of the experiment revealed that the medicines are significantly effective against the bacterial strain and 30CH potency of Belladonna, Mercurius, Solublis, Ferrum Phosphoricum, Lycopodium Clavatum, Lachesis (arranged in decreasing order of GIZ) can inhibit growth of S pyogenes. Conclusion: This experiment clearly showed that homoeopathic medicines have antibacterial property against S. pyogenes and this important finding may be utilized in direct or supplementary treatment of S. pyogenes infection in future.