The Homeopathic Pharmacopeia of India

The early volumes’ monographs look very similar to those that appeared in the HPUS Seventh Edition (1964) and Eighth Edition (1978):

• These monographs include synonyms, descriptions (often including extensive microscopic details), habitat information, and the part of plant used. Almost every monograph includes a short list of selected references in which the substance’s homeopathic therapeutic information appears.
• Botanical monographs include a “recipe” for preparing the tincture; these “recipes” are duplicates of the older HPUS formulae. Many are based upon a stated quantity of dried, pulverized botanical material. When fresh plants are specified, the formula is based upon an ‘ideal” composition: the stated weight of plant matter contains exactly 100 grams of plant solids (see below for a caution in this regard).
• Some of the chemical monographs include identification tests, assays, and a few limit tests.
• Use of the “combined editions” is extremely important as there are cross-references to revised monographs that correct critical errors in the original monographs.

Later volumes have the same general monograph format. Increasingly, botanical monographs have “wet chemistry” or thin layer chromatography tests and results; these tend to be simplistic and are often performed in the absence of a reference substance.

However, chapters at the end of Volumes VI and VIII have QC tests for many substances that appeared in earlier volumes. Unless one has familiarity with the entire HPI, it is easy to miss this additional essential information. Later volumes also include test method descriptions that might be helpful to companies looking for a starting place to create inhouse quality control tests for substances that do not have that information in any of the pharmacopeias reviewed to date. [1] A partial list of test methods described in the HPI follows the text below; be aware that some of these methods were developed 30 to 40 years ago and might be considered obsolete in a contemporary laboratory setting.

The HPI does not include information on first safe attenuation for marketing or dispensing. The permissible alcohol content of botanical tinctures in the HPI may be different than that allowed in the HPUS; users of the HPI need to cross check what is permitted in the HPUS for use of HPI tinctures in the United States or any other country that uses the HPUS as its legal reference.

[1] The Homeopathic Pharmacopeia of the United States, The German Homeopathic Pharmacopeia, The French Pharmacopeia, The European Pharmacopeia, the British Homeopathic Pharmacopeia. Links accessible by Members only.