Ethanol/alcohol content

Why do our LM potencies contain ethanol?

Ethanol is a natural substance and a proven component in the preparation and manufacturing of medicines. It is miscible with water in any proportion in liquid medicines, stabilizing sensitive organic compounds against decomposition and, depending on the concentration, protecting them against microbial spoilage, i.e., inhibiting the growth of bacteria and fungi. There is no alternative to ethanol as a carrier for remedies.

Arcana's liquid LM potencies are produced with 15% ethanol by mass, equivalent to 19% by volume. This formulation strictly adheres to the production method bindingly prescribed for LM potencies by the Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia (HAB) in regulation 17.

 

How much ethanol (alcohol) is in Arcana's LM potencies?

Our 10 ml dropper bottle contains 1.47 g of ethanol. One drop of the LM potency corresponds to approximately 6 mg of ethanol.

If we define a threshold of 1‰ (1 promille) ethanol content in human blood as the level for the occurrence of serious poisoning, the following scenarios apply to children and adults:

  • A child weighing 10 kg would need to ingest approximately 9 g of pure ethanol for serious poisoning.
  • A child weighing 20 kg would need to ingest approximately 18 g of pure ethanol for serious poisoning.
  • An adult weighing 60 kg would need to ingest approximately 54 g of pure ethanol for serious poisoning.

With the proper dosage of our liquid LM potencies (diluting a maximum of 5 drops in a glass of water to approximately 150 ml, and taking 1 teaspoon of the mixture), only about 1 mg of ethanol is introduced. This amount, rapidly metabolized in the body within a few minutes, is minuscule compared to the ethanol intake from consuming common foods. Everyday foods contain multiples of this amount of ethanol when consumed in typical quantities.

  • 100 mL fruit juice contain up to 320 mg of ethanol
  • 50 grams of bread contain approximately 120 mg of ethanol
  • 50 grams of a banana (about a third of a banana) contains about 120 mg of ethanol.

 

To summarize:

  • Ethanol is an indispensable component of Arcana LM potencies.
  • With proper dosage, the ethanol intake from our dilutions is significantly lower than even small amounts of various common foods.
  • Even in the case of accidentally consuming an entire 10 ml bottle, the quantity of ethanol contained therein poses no threat.