Current Research Projects

The Rising Picture Method as Basic Research for a Better Understanding of Herbal Medicines

|   Heilpflanzen, Präparateforschung

One hundred years ago, in 1923, Lily Kolisko (1889–1976) began the task set by Rudolf Steiner at the Biological Institute of the Goetheanum based in Stuttgart, of “studying the formative forces in plants” using the rising picture research method on plant juices.[1] She combined her previous work – potency research using measurements of plant organs during germination – and developed a method based on the principles of chromatography using various experiments with metal salts, the so-called “capillary dynamolysis”. Today, this is known as the “rising picture method” and belongs to the “picture-forming methods” of goetheanistic research. Even back then, Lily Kolisko was asking important agricultural, astronomical, medical, and pharmaceutical questions. Following this impulse, research continued in various promising directions, through researchers such as Ehrenfried Pfeiffer, Agnes Fyfe, Magda Engquist, Maja Mewes, and Rudolf Hauschka, right up to present-day researchers such as Ruth Mandera[2], Hans-Joachim Strüh[3][4], and Beatrix Waldburger[5], to mention just a few. The work and the method itself have been developed further at various institutes (Research Institute at the Goetheanum, Strömungsinstitut Herrischried), in research associations (Verein für Krebsforschung Hiscia with Paul Doesburg and others), in companies (Wala, Dr. Hauschka), and in many individual research projects.

As a result, the limits of knowledge of the method in the area of “quality and vitality of plant juices” became clearer and could be critically questioned.[6] Rising pictures are largely replicable, but their evaluation is difficult and requires thorough training for the evaluator to enter into a qualitative comparison of the pictures in an objective yet living manner. With the help of evaluation criteria and/or already established reference series or types, it is possible to move between the rising pictures in a comprehensible way. On the one hand, this examination of the rising patterns encourages the researcher to intensify their relationship with nature and, on the other, to train their living, adaptable thinking. The exploration begins with tasting and smelling the plant extracts, and observing their color, texture, and other properties. The rising picture method is not an analytical method; it does not show which substances can be found in the juice and in what concentration, but rather what happens to the substances during the process – their complex transformations. The method can therefore only be used to accompany a process, and from this a language can be developed about the qualitative change in the substances.

For me, as a pharmacist who is particularly interested in the plant world, the rising pictures always provided added enrichment for gaining deeper insights into the changes in plant organs over the course of the year. Even in organs like perennial bulbs that do not change much externally in a year, a lot happened during the annual cycle in connection with the above-ground organs; you could see this in the change of colors and shapes, as well as in the whole dynamic, harmony, and aesthetics of the picture. With their help, I was able to better determine the plant's harvest time or justify the selection of plant organs for new development, because the rising pictures made visible, for example, how deeply the flowering impulse extended into other parts of the plant at the time of flowering.[7][8] The transformation of the plant juices through pharmaceutical processes could also be observed, which is important for creating the composition of remedies.

In March 2024, the Natural Science Section at the Goetheanum will begin an initial five-year research project focusing on the genus Artemisia, to be continued in the future in conjunction with other institutes and researchers, and possibly companies. Using six species of medicinal plants from this genus, we will track changes in the vegetative and generative phases of the plants, particularly in the leaf area. This will be followed by a comparison between representatives of other “bitter” genera and families. We want to come to a better understanding of bitter substances and tannins as “processes that have come to an end”. In addition, pharmaceutical questions will be addressed that involve research into water-based pharmaceutical processes, such as the preparation of macerates, infusions, digestives, decoctions, etc., as well as various solvents and their concentrations. There are important questions before us in the field of anthroposophic medicine and medicinal products that affect their quality within a certain framework. In addition to important analytical studies on effectiveness, a basis must be established and documented for the quality characteristics of anthroposophically conceived medicines. Quality is regarded as the most important principle in anthroposophic medicinal products, but it has not been researched much. In the project, materials will be developed that allow differences in quality to be compared and documented. In this way, we hope to make a small contribution to the future of anthroposophic medicine.

[1] Kolisko E. and L.: Agriculture of Tomorrow. Part 2: Smallest Entities in Agriculture. Chpt. XVIII. Capillary Dynamolysis; German translation 1953.

[2] Mandera R.: Zur Metamorphose von Pflanzenorganen, Substanzqualitäten und Bildtypen im Steigbild. [On the metamorphosis of plant organs, substance qualities and image types in the rising picture.] Tycho de Brahe – Jahrbuch für Goetheanismus. Verlag am Goetheanum, Switzerland; 1995: pp. 298–310.

[3] Strüh H.-J.: Zu den stofflichen Verhältnissen und zur zeitlichen Entwicklung von pharmazeutischen Prozessen. [On the material conditions and temporal development of pharmaceutical processes.] Tycho de Brahe – Jahrbuch für Goetheanismus. Verlag am Goetheanum, Switzerland; 1995: pp. 260–284.

[4] Strüh H.-J.: Grundlegende Phänomene bei der Ausbildung der Steigbildformen. Bildtypen und pharmazeutische Prozesse. [Fundamental phenomena in the formation of the rising picture forms. Image types and pharmaceutical processes.] Elemente der Naturwissenschaft. Verlag am Goetheanum, Switzerland; 1987: pp. 22–35.

[5] Waldburger B.: Faszination Steigbilder. [The fascination of rising pictures.] Info3 Verlag, Frankfurt am Main; 2023.

[6] Strüh H.-J.: Die Steigbildmethode – ein kritischer und weiterführender Überblick. [The rising picture method – a critical and advanced overview.] Tycho de Brahe – Jahrbuch für Goetheanismus. Verlag am Goetheanum, Switzerland; 2023: pp. 117–153.

[7] Forštnerič V., Rispens J. A.: Begleitung dreier Zyklamenarten im Jahreslauf mit der Steigbildmethode. [Monitoring three cyclamen species over the course of the year using the rising picture method.] Der Merkurstab; 2014: 67(6): pp. 466–472.

[8] Forštnerič V., Šenekar P.: Wilde Karde und Borreliose – ein Brückenschlag. Ein goetheanistisch-anthroposophischer Erkenntnisweg zur Entwicklung neuer Heilmittel. [Wild teasel and Lyme disease  – building a bridge. A Goetheanist-anthroposophical path of knowledge for the development of new remedies.] Verlag Sapientia; 2024

 

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