Randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial of homoeopathic 'proving'for Belladonna C30

Homoeopathic drug pictures are developed by recording the symptomatic effec ts of homoeopathic remedies given to healthy volunteers (a 'proving'), In a double-blind randomized controlled trial we tested the hypothesis that ind ividuals using an infinitesimal dilution of Belladonna (thirtieth potency, C30) would record more true symptoms, on a questionnaire that contained bot h true and false Belladonna proving symptoms, than those receiving placebo, 60 volunteers entered the study and 47 completed data collection. We were u nable to distinguish between Belladonna C30 and placebo using our primary o utcome measure. For the secondary outcome measure we analysed the number of individuals who proved to the remedy according to our predefined criteria: 4 out of 19 proved in the Belladonna C30 group and 1 out of 27 in the plac ebo group (difference not statistically significant). This pilot study does not demonstrate a clear proving reaction for Belladon na C30 versus placebo, but indicates how the question might be further inve stigated.