I have written specifically about the Banerji Protocols and the Narayani combinations (here, here, and here. The Boiron over-the-counter combos are sprinkled throughout my articles. I have mentioned the BHI combos only once in my Digging Deeper article about hemorrhoids. Perhaps it’s because I don’t see these too often any more that they are not front and center in my mind. BHI/HEEL — I’m honestly not certain what the technicalities are between these/this company/companies. MediNatura (maker of Traumeel,) is another name that is part of this company puzzle. I do know they at least were based in New Mexico - maybe that’s why I saw their products on the shelves. Not so much these days, though.

They are still out there, however — for purchase through the internet.

What are they?

They are a smaller line of homeopathic combinations, compared to the Narayanis and they do not use the mega potencies that some Narayanis do; in fact, most (all?) of their combos are made using low x potencies.

You may be familiar with their T-Relief and Traumeel (a personal favorite combo of mine). What else do they have? In addition to the Hemorrhoid combo listed above, to list just a few more:

• They have a T-Relief for Arthritis.
• A cold/flu combo called ReBoost
• Wellmind Calming tablets (also called Calming with different packaging) (this looks like a really lovely combination, but I haven’t tried it)
• Spasm for cramp and spasm relief
• Mucus
• Nausea

Plus a handful of remedies for animals. It appears the ingredients are the same but there is a price difference — generally the pet product is more expensive for fewer tablets as the “human” version. I do see there is a difference in the inactive ingredients.
​
Since we are in the middle of cold and flu season, let’s take a very quick (and by no means complete) look at BHI’s ReBoost combo and why they have included the remedies they have (including one I have never heard of so let’s learn together):

• Zincum aceticum and Zincum gluconicum
  • it could be argued that these low potencies (2x and 1x) of zinc could be equated to using a zinc supplement (more akin to a cell salt) which has shown to be beneficial in respiratory viral infections (Sadeghsoltani et al. 2021)
  • according to Synergy VIVA AI homeopathic software, Zincum gluconicum is generally used for immune support, especially in reducing the duration and severity of cold symptoms and Zincum aceticum is known more for its effects on the nervous system relating to restlessness and irritability.
• Asclepias vincetoxicum (homeochord: 6x, 10x, 30x), aka Vincetoxicum officinale
  • I’ve never heard of this remedy and this exact remedy name does not come up in either of my software programs; however, it does show up in Similia, (but just barely), as Vincetoxicum officinale, (and, under this name it does show up in both my software programs) with Murphy saying it’s a gastrointestinal irritant. Murphy references Boericke, but I’m not finding Asc-v there, either, relating to influenza, at least.
  • the package says: relieves chills, headaches and bodyaches
• Anas barbariae (homeochord: 20x and 200c)
  • also known as Oscillococcinum — indicated for early stages of the flu
• Aconitum napellus
  • for fever and aches and pains during the flu
• Bryonia
  • bursting headaches, limb pain, aching muscles
• Ipecacuanha
  • coughing, difficult respiration, vomiting, nausea
• Sulphur (homeochord: 4x and 10x)
  • difficult respiration, cough, fever, bruised (as if) pain
• Hydrasatis
  • sore or tickling throat; dry, harsh cough; thick, sticky mucus; headache
• Eupatorium perfoliatum
  • aching pains, especially in the bones; bursting headache; aching muscles; profuse sweat; extreme fatigue
• Phosphorus
  • dull headache; lots of snot; watering eyes; sore throat; lots of hawking of mucus; cough; weakness; fever; fatigue
• Lachesis
  • a racking, spasmodic cough - tickling and tormenting; fever

As you see, a few of their combos contain homeochords, specifically in what I would call the “target” remedy for the main concern. For example, the Clearlife Allergy Relief shows in their 15 remedy combo that two of the ingredients (Histaminum and Sabadilla) are in multiple potencies.

What else about the BHI combos? If you want to spend a little time searching the internet, you can find old copies of their manuals. Apparently, they used to make an awful lot more combinations. Alas. Like the Narayani books, I find these BHI guides helpful for learning remedies.

As I have said in previous articles about combos which are no longer available, you can make your own. You don’t have to be perfect. If their combo calls for a potency that is not readily available to you, choose the nearest potency you can find. For instance, their old “Exhaustion” combo contains Sepia 12x — not so easy to find. Sepia was also used in the Hyland’s no longer available combination called “Awake” in a 30x. But, if you were making your own combination reflecting these remedies, a 6c would be a good substitution. (Margriet Plouvier-Suijs equates 12x-14x to a 7c**, another not so easy to find potency, but we can be pretty sure a 6c is pretty close to a 7c in it’s action.)

When I first really got interested in homeopathy, years before becoming a homeopath, I had a whole line up of Heel containers on a spice rack shelf in a kitchen cupboard. It was so nice to have an alphabetical line up of go-to remedies: Headache, Nausea, Spascupreel, Traumeel… The names may change but the idea remains the same — an excellent way to cover lots of homeopathic bases right there at your fingertips - no thought required!


Julia Coyte, CHom
Classically Practical homeopath

#wellnessawaits


*I have zero affiliation with any of these companies — I just like their products.
** France seems to use odd numbers, the rest of the world even🤷‍♀️

Reference list
​Plouvier-Suijs, M., 2014. About potencies. Emryss Publishers.

Sadeghsoltani, F., Mohammadzadeh, I., Safari, M.-M., Hassanpour, P., Izadpanah, M., Qujeq, D., Moein, S. and Vaghari-Tabari, M., 2021. Zinc and Respiratory Viral Infections: Important Trace Element in Anti-viral Response and Immune Regulation. Biological Trace Element Research [online]. 

I’ll confess… it wasn't love at first sight. It took me a figurative minute to get on board with the idea of sarcodes. Once I discovered their unbelievable usefulness… I’m not looking back.

​There is one problem with this sarcode love… I hate that we don’t have more readily available information on how to use them! The schools I attended (as fantastic as they were) touched on sarcodes, but I was definitely left with wanting to know more about the how’s and why’s and when’s. As a result, I have taken pretty much every course available and purchased every book I could find on sarcodes.

​This is what this article is all about — spreading the good word, sharing the love of homeopathic sarcodes.
​
It is very important to note that neither these books nor this article will actually teach you the how’s and why’s and when’s of using sarcodes. These books are useful once you have learned how to use the sarcodes.

​What are sarcodes, again?
(See also: Sodes and Codes if you are unfamiliar with the term.)

​Sarcodes are homeopathic remedies made from healthy tissues or secretions, generally taken from healthy animals. “Any physiological processes can be a sarcode remedy” (Johnson 2016).

• tissues (such as thyroid, tendon, thymus gland, hypothalamus, cartilage, to name but a few) — essentially every piece of a body can be made into a sarcode
• healthy secretions (substances like adrenaline, cortisol, histamine, lactic acid) can be made into a sarcode
• the matridonals are remedies made from the hormones and substances from, as the name says, the mother and are considered sarcodes
• lacs, or the milks, are a whole other class unto themselves but are also considered sarcodes.

Matridonals and Lacs are for another day.

​Are sarcodes the same thing as organotherapy, or something different?
This, of course, is not a straight forward answer. I believe this discrepancy often comes down to individual authors.

Dr. Thasleena M has literally just this week published Sarcodes: The Organ Language of the Vital Force: Understanding, Selecting and Using Organ Remedies in Homeopathy. 

​She provides an opportunity to cut through the noise in regard to “sarcode” vs “organotherapy.” She lists 4 different kinds of sarcodes (on page 6):

• glandular
• organ
• tissue
• enzyme/hormonal

​This list may shed some light on our confusion: many of the “glands” she mentions are also considered “organs”; and, she lists other organs, like skin and bones, as “tissues”. This shows us one way these terms can be confused.

Organotherapy may use sarcodes. Sarcodes may be used to help ailing organs. Sarcodes may be made from organs. See where all this confusion is coming from?

​So,what is organotherapy then?
Organotherapy is a homeopathic therapeutic approach that uses remedies targeted specifically at organs, glands or systems to stimulate, regulate or normalize their function. The remedies used may be “standard” homeopathic remedies or they may be cell salts or gemmos or sarcodes or even nosodes — thus making organotherapy a much larger topic than sarcodes alone. Today, we’re sticking with just sarcodes.

Just to make it a little more confusing, organotherapy is also used in allopathic medicine, though most versions used today are synthesized in the lab… think: hormone replacement therapy, thyroid and glucocorticoids to treat adrenal insufficiency, etc.
​
Historically speaking, if someone had a thyroid issue, allopathic physicians would use the whole desiccated thyroid gland (and still used today, actually), generally from a healthy pig (porcine), to treat this problem (Heald et al. 2024). The benefit of this method is that you get the entire thyroid gland and all its supposed goodness. The counter argument, they say, is that not everybody needs all the thyroid extras.

​Today, if you go to your doctor with this complaint, you are most likely going to be given Levothyroxine which is a synthesized form of thyroxine from L-tyrosine, a naturally occurring amino acid, resulting in a synthetic version which is “chemically identical to the naturally produced thyroid hormone thyroxine” (Drugbank). 

As I recall hearing years ago, the main reason as to why they made the switch to a synthetic product was to be able to control the dose. A logical thought. But, in my never-to-be-humble opinion, I think it misses the point. The point, to my mind, is to re-teach the thyroid what it is supposed to be doing. In an ideal world, this supplementation would not be taken forever. (I know, some people absolutely require thyroid replacement to live. I’m talking about a poorly functioning thyroid, not a missing or completely defunct thyroid.) Note: I am not here to argue one side or the other, I am just laying out the history of thyroid medication and how it relates to homeopathic sarcodes.

However, it’s not always straight forward. Of course it isnt!

Sticking with the thyroid example, even though the thyroid is what appears to be the problem, (most likely via blood testing), it could actually be another endocrine gland above or below the thyroid in the endocrine chain that is making a nuisance of itself: the hypothalamus or the pituitary (posterior, anterior or the whole thing), for instance. In other words, simply because someone is seemingly struggling with thyroid issues, that doesn’t mean that the use of Thyroidinum is a slam dunk. Our bodies aren’t always so accommodatingly simple, unfortunately.

​OK, but what do sarcodes actually do?
Sarcodes (from Tenka 2021):

• balance organs, glands or tissue activity
• slow down accelerated organs, glands or tissue activity
• stimulate sluggish organs, glands or tissue activity…

I like to think of sarcodes as a little kick in the keister — they serve as a reminder to the body, giving a gentle nudge to remind the various aspects of the anatomical system what their job is and how to do it… properly.

​Back to the books, please.
Getting back to this brand new book by Dr. Thasleena M… it is probably one of the most useful books on sarcodes I have found to date. (It’s one of only three in this list solely dedicated to sarcodes.) The author does a really nice job explaining sarcodes with charts describing the main indications for the use of various sarcodes and where one might expect to see their use, i.e., gynecology may use this group of sarcodes and pediatrics or geriatrics may use different groups.

​From here, she works through the various sarcodes and provides information on:

• source and preparation
• sphere of action
• essence of the remedy
• a small materia medica
• clinical indications
• remedy relationships to both other sarcodes as well as homeopathic remedies
• and ends with a small graph of differential diagnoses and indicated remedies

It’s a short book but it looks like it will be a very useful resource (and, its available on Kindle for easy searching)!

​Jerry van den Bosch* has written what is probably the most practical approach to these remedies: Sarcodes — The Hidden Gems of Homeopathic Medicine: A Comprehensive Guide to Homeopathic Healing with Organotherapy. This is a tiny book, just 75 small pages, but, once you learn how to use it*, they are very valuable pages.

​What does he have to say about organotherapy?
Mr. Van den Bosch seems to be one of the authors who uses sarcode and organotherapy interchangeably and he very helpfully tells us (on page 11):

Before his book even gets going, Van den Bosch says:

I can relate to his statement of needing firsthand experience — both with sarcodes in general and his method in specific.

​The bulk of Van den Bosch’s book is laid out very simply: indications by body part, followed by the sarcode/s he suggests for each. In a few instances, he includes detailed instructions with which doses to take and when.

CAUTION: there is a language barrier!

• All of his potencies are based on remedies from Boiron in France — e.g., 4CH or 8DH (unless otherwise stated). To my knowledge, we can’t get these potencies outside of France. Van den Bosch* says these specific potencies and the Boiron preparation of these remedies makes a difference. He says even though you can get similar remedies from places like Helios, they are different. I leave it to you to figure out and decide.
• Another quite important note on Van den Bosch’s book: all of the remedy names are in French, so have your French/English dictionary handy.

​Despite these little hiccups, overcoming the language barrier has been worth it in my opinion. I have tried some of these French sarcodes and I have been very pleasantly surprised.

​Berkeley Squire’s (2011), A Repertory of Homeopathic Nosodes & Sarcodes
Like Van den Bosch’s book, this one left me a little perplexed for a while, too. It’s called a repertory, but despite it being a thick volume, it felt a little thin on information at first.

I was listening to a Gaurang Gaikwad lecture and the penny dropped for me on this book. The introduction acknowledges this is a different sort of book: “So, it must be viewed as the definitive book upon them [nosodes and sarcodes], for an index is the soul of a book.” It is indeed more like an index than any repertory I’m used to using. Most symptoms list pretty much just one or two remedies and most of the remedies appear to be nosodes, not sarcodes. However, it is an excellent resource for confirmatory symptoms.

​Speaking of repertories… sarcodes don’t pop up too often — which is why the need for so many dedicated books.

​Part of the reason for this is, generally speaking, sarcodes don’t undergo classic large-scale Hahnemannian provings. The materia medicae of sarcodes are developed by combining toxicological effects from crude preparations, as well as “knowledge of their pharmacological actions,” mixed with clinical experience (Nayak et al. 2016). In short, we only know what we know about sarcodes and there is a lot left to be discovered in terms of sarcode benefits. I think we’ll have to wait patiently for thorough provings to be conducted.

Back to Berkeley Squire’s book… the final couple of pages are “Remedy Relationships” — a useful little list of sarcodes and nosodes and their related “standard” homeopathic remedies.

​Chaturbhuja Nayak’s Homeopathic Materia Medica of Sarcodes.
This is a thorough book with each entry having an introduction about the substance; the source and preparation of the substance; who proved it and when; sphere of action; clinical conditions; characteristic features and then followed by a few pages of symptomatology. Each chapter ends with a dose and potency section, cautions, comparisons and “success stories of reputed clinicians”. The size of the symptomatology for each entry is rather thin compared to some of the other books in this list.

​Note: about the middle third of this book is dedicated to the Lacs.

​Gaurang Gaikwad’s Materia Medica of Nosodes & Sarcodes.
Each of the remedies (20 sarcodes, 27 nosodes and 7 bowel nosodes) are fleshed out quickly through bullet points followed by clinical diseases in which it would be useful and a bit of materia medica from notable sources. Some of the entries are very short but a couple of others include cases.

​B.K. Sarkar’s Up-to-date with Nosodes and Sarcodes.
I really like the size of this no-nonsense, straight to the point book, but it only has write-ups for just a couple of sarcodes. Most of the book is dedicated to nosodes, bowel nosodes and some more unusual remedies like the Magnetis polis, X-ray and Electricity.

​Most of the sarcode books out there are materia medicae and I am very grateful to have them. Some are more complete than others; but, unfortunately, there is not one single source that I have found to cover everything. I wish I could provide one simple title with all the possible sarcodes with full write-ups to guide us to applicable sarcodes for every needed situation, but I guess we’ll just have to wait. In the meantime, share the homeopathy love. 💕
​

​Julia Coyte, CHom
Classically Practical homeopath

#wellnessawaits


*CHE offers a Homeopathy Spotlight with Jerry Van Den Bosch and I highly recommend it. In fact, I found the book not very helpful prior to hearing him speak on it.

Reference list
Burdet, C., 2016. Interhomeopathy - Editorial: sarcode remedies - processes of life [online]. Interhomeopathy.fr. 

Clarke, J. H., 2015. Dictionary of practical materia medica. accessed through Radar Opus software.

Drugbank, n.d. Levothyroxine sodium - DrugBank [online]. go.drugbank.com.

Gaikwad, G., 2019. Materia Medica of Nosodes & Sarcodes. Gurukrupa, Mumbai: Dr. Gaurang Gaikwad.

Goswami, A., 2024. Exploring The Enigmatic Nature of Sarcode Remedies in Homoeopathy: History and Applications [online]. homeopathy360.

Heald, A. H., Taylor, P., Lakdasa Premawardhana, Stedman, M. and Dayan, C., 2024. Natural desiccated thyroid for the treatment of hypothyroidism? Frontiers in Endocrinology [online], 14.

Johnson, G., 2016. Interhomeopathy - Sensational sarcodes [online]. Interhomeopathy.org.

Kalathia, G., 2010. The Language of Sarcodes. Homoeopathic Links [online], 23 (01), 52–55.

Kumari, A., 2020. Sarcode and Nosode remedies in Homoeopathy [online]. Homeopathy Resource by Homeobook.com.

Lathiya, P. and Patel, G., 2024. Role of Thyroidinum (sarcode) as an intercurrent remedy in treating various cases of Hypothyroidism. Southeast Asian Journal of Health Professional [online], 7 (2), 47–49.

M, T., 2026. Sarcodes: the Organ Language of the Vital Force: Understanding, Selecting and Using Organ Remedies in Homeopathy. Kindle. Independently Published.

Master, F. J., ed. 2024. The Homeopathic Heritage: Bringing Classical and Contemporary Homoeopathy ogether • Unveiling the Potential of Homoeopathic Remedies in Chronic Suppurative Otitis Media: Ongoing Research at The Calcutta Homoeopathic Medical College & Hospital • Sarcodes -A Bestowal For Ailing Mankind Sarcodes & Homeopathic Practice [online].

McAninch, E. A. and Bianco, A. C., 2016. The History and Future of Treatment of Hypothyroidism. Annals of internal medicine [online], 164 (1), 50–56.

Nayak, C., Smita Brahmachari and Syed Afsar Ali, 2016. Homoeopathic Materia Medica of Sarcodes. B. Jain Publishers (P.) Ltd.

Pope, C., 2024. Levothyroxine [online]. Drugs.com.

Squire, B., 2011. Repertory of Homoeopathic Nosodes and Sarcodes. B Jain Publishers Pvt Limited.

Tenka, Y., 2021. Sarcodes and its homeopathic application.

Teraiya, D., 2025. Organ Remedies in Homeopathy: Healing Through Organ Support. Kindle. Independently Published.

van den Bosch, J., 2024. Sarcodes: The Hidden Gems of Homeopathic Medicine: A Comprehensive Guide to Homeopathic Healing with Organotherapy. Emryss Publishers.

If you are a frequent reader of Ruminating on Remedies, you’ll know that I am a fan of homeopathic combination remedies, especially for at home use: Banerji Protocols, Narayanis and over-the-counter combos, like Cold Calm.

Homeopathy chords (also spelled as homeochords or homaccords or homeocords) resemble a combination remedy but they are multi-potency preparations as opposed to multi-remedy combinations.

A “standard” homeochord (sometimes also called a potency chord) would include homeopathic potencies like 12c, 30c, 200c, 1M — some may include additional higher potencies or more lower potencies.

Finding the history on these chords is not so easy. I certainly didn’t find it in any of the books on my shelves and I didn’t find anything through the books on my homeopathic software or through internet searches. I had to turn to AI (I used Grok, which I have been told is more homeopathy friendly than others) which refers to Emanual Cahis (a Spanish physician) as the “key reference” “who is widely credited as the first to describe and use the idea of combining multiple potencies of the same remedy in 1913… in Berliner Homöopathische Zeitschrift (Berlin Homeopathic Journal)… (drawing on Fechner’s law for ratios like 3:6:12 in decimal/centesimal scales) to create what he called ‘accords’ or ‘syntheses.’ He noted practical benefits like faster, more intense, longer-lasting action with fewer adverse reactions.”

Finding modern “official” information on homeochords is not much easier. Lisa Strbac (2024) mentions them in her Trailblazer’s Insight into Homeopathy, but other than that, not much is out there. I have included in the references below two PDFs I stumbled upon.

Dr. Joe Rozencwajg (2010) is one modern homeopath who uses them and writes about them. He calls homeochords “plasma potencies” postulating “that instead of remaining individualised and separated, the different potencies would also somehow ‘morph and create’ all the intermediaries… maybe this is wishful thinking, maybe this is real, so far there is no demonstration of this…. Nevertheless, as long as the remedy was correct, I always had very good results with that system.” He says they are “especially useful in acute situations, in semiacutes and localized problems.”

Dr. Rozencwajg* now uses his “plasma potencies” in a Fibonacci chord. The Fibonacci potencies are a way of using homeopathic remedies based on a natural sequence of numbers. This sequence is found throughout nature, like in the arrangement of leaves or the pattern of a sunflower’s seeds. In homeopathy, remedies are given in potencies that follow these steps (not just in a chord — these can be used individually as well), with the idea that this approach may align more naturally with the body’s own rhythms and healing processes, potentially enhancing the effectiveness of the remedy. (See here for more information on Fibonacci numbers.)

Homeochords are not classical homeopathy and I am not implying that here at all, but the classical thinking behind the chords in the standard potencies is that these potencies will address the physical symptoms (through the low potencies) and the deep-seated mental/emotional symptoms (through the high potencies). The medium potencies are thrown in for good measure to bridge the physical and emotional planes. (For more thoughts on potency, see here.)

I would say that like the Banerji Protocols, homeochords are aimed at the disease rather than the patient as a whole. They make more sense to me when trying to address something specific.

Henninger and King (1998) surmise: “When applying homeopathic potency chords, a faster and broader response of the organism is to be expected.” From the same article, Dr. H.H. Reckeweg says: “…the leading idea is that different potencies will reach different defense systems.”

Dr. Reckeweg developed what are called Homaccords, “a mixture of two or more homeopathic components in potency chords.” This is a full system of homeopathy which I have yet to dig into very far, but it’s on my to-do list.

Looking at the chords from a more practical aspect, think of them as “birdshot” — the ammunition for shooting small, fast-moving targets — the pellets, or in this case the potencies, spread out in a wide pattern for the best chance of hitting the target.

I have been aware of the idea of chords for a while, but only recently did I decide to give one a try.

Why did I choose to try a chord? I had excellent results with a particular remedy and potency but things weren’t quite finished but that remedy and potency combination was no longer doing anything for me. I went up in potency to no avail. I went down in potency for nought. Rather than systematically taking a long time to work my way through the various potencies, I decided to let my body decide which potency it needed. (Bonus: a homeochord is (generally speaking) cheaper than buying many different potencies of the same remedy.)

The benefits of using a homeochord:

• if it’s the right remedy, there’s a good chance the chord will strike harmoniously with the user
• it is said to reduce the potential of aggravations. This makes sense since one standard rule of thumb for dealing with an aggravation is to take the same remedy but in a lower potency (2 steps down) to quell the symptoms. There’s a good chance that lower potency is already included in the chord.

The downside? I have no idea which potency worked its magic on me. Oh, well.

Some may worry about “proving” a remedy with all these potencies, but in my never-to-be-humble opinion, I believe that if your body doesn’t need the homeopathic remedy, your body will ignore that homeopathic remedy. There are exceptions to this thought process: if one repeatedly takes a remedy which one does not need, new symptoms may arise. (See “The Original Drug Testing… Homeopathic Provings” for more info.) I believe the same thing holds true in regard potencies: The remedy and the potency needs to resonate with the person.

I am sure I have tempted you with this idea and now I leave you with the challenge of finding these homeochords.

A couple of the combination remedies you can buy at the grocery store are a little chord-ish… T-Relief,** for example, includes Arnica in 3x, 6x and 10x, all in the same tablet, along with other remedies.
Rootling around the internet, I came upon a few online sources (most located in Australia) and only one of which I am familiar (Eugenie Kreuger).

Heel/BHI and Dr. Reckeweg are the most readily available in the US that incorporate chords. There are other US based distributors and pharmacies, but I believe most of these are available only to/through professional homeopaths. So, if you’re interested, speak to your homeopath about them.


Julia Coyte, CHom
Classically Practical homeopath
#wellnessawaits


* Dr. Rozencwajg’s book is all about the Fibonacci sequence, but I have yet to read anything beyond his few pages on chords.
** I have no affiliation with this company, I just like their products.

Reference list
Berryman, P., n.d. Busting the myth of ‘high’ and ‘low’ potencies: how homochords can improve your potency and dosing outcomes [online].

Henninger, C. and King, G., 1998. Fundamentals of the Application of Potency Chords. Biomedical Therapy [online], XVI (No. 1), 147–150.

Pierce, R., 2016. Fibonacci Sequence [online]. Mathsisfun.com.

Rozencwajg, J., 2010. The potency : advanced prescribing in homeopathy : the Fibonacci potencies : a unified theory and practice of modern homeopathic posology. Haarlem? Emryss.

Strbac, L., 2024. The Trailblazer’s Insight Into Homeopathy. Homeopathy Heals.