The results were collected in an encyclopedia of drug effects known as the material medicas. Homeopathic remedies are made from substances diluted thousands of times in water or alcohol. The final solution can be more dilute than one molecule of salt placed in an ocean. A molecule is the smallest possible amount of any substance. Most homeopathic remedies contain less than one molecule of the original plant or chemical extract.
Some people believe that homeopathic medicine works by stimulating the body's own natural defenses.
However, the use of highly diluted substances has not been shown scientifically to work. If there is less than one molecule of a substance present, it means that no substance remains. Homeopaths say it is electromagnetic waves of the active ingredient it once contained. They say that vigorous shakings between each dilution make this memory possible. Another explanation, heard less often, is that all of the shaking and dilution activity releases the essence, or healing life force, of the original substance.