Homeopathic Materia Medica

Homeopathic Materia Medica are encyclopedia of purported therapeutic properties of each homeopathic preparation, which are ascribed through provings. According to Samuel Hahnemann in his Organon of Medicine § 143, homeopathic materia medica is "a collection of real, pure, reliable modes of action of simple medicinal substances, a volume of book of nature." They thus act as a homeopathic prescribing reference guide and source for compiling Homeopathic repertory. Earlier materia medicas have details regarding the materials and methods which may be used to prepare homeopathic medicines.
Medical science has determined that homeopathic preparations are not effective for treating any condition.
Samuel Hahnemann invented the practise of homeopathy while translating the botanical, Treatise of the materia medica by the Scottish physician William Cullen from English into German in 1790. Twenty pages in that work are devoted to Peruvian cinchona bark which is used to prepare the medicine quinine. This substance produces fever-like symptoms while being used to cure intermittent fever or ague and this led Hahnemann to conceive the principle of similars: that like may cure like. He went on to develop the materia medica along these homeopathic lines and others then continued this work to produce great volumes of potential ingredients.

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