Newsletter Archive
April 2010
Three questions for Dr. Karl-Heinz Hofbauer
Have you always wanted to know how the little white WALA Medicines globules are made? Or where the term globuli velati comes from? Then you’re in luck! In this month’s interview Dr. Karl-Heinz Hofbauer, head of the manufacturing section for globuli velati, answers these questions about the little round helpers.
Where does the term globuli velati come from?
The terms globuli (little balls or spheres) and velati (coated) are from Latin. WALA’s globuli velati are sucrose pellets, size five. They are a little bigger than the standard size, which is size three. These pellets are covered with a sugar syrup containing a mixture of active substances which have previously been potentised in accordance with homeopathic procedures. Potentising – from the Latin potentia meaning ability, power – refers to the dilution and agitation of an active substance in a specified, established manner to increase the efficacy of the resulting mixture. This mixture is applied to the globuli and forms the “coating around the pellets”.
How does WALA make the globuli?
At WALA we manufacture our globuli velati in accordance with Method 39a (Globuli velati single substances) and Method 39c (Globuli velati compound preparations) of the German Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia. For this, colleagues in the potentising laboratory first make a potency preparation, for example from potencies of medicinal plant extracts known as mother tinctures. These are sprayed, or very occasionally poured manually, on to the sucrose pellets in a rotating sugar-coating vessel at a temperature of 37 °C. Immediately beside the sugar-coating room are the production rooms for the packaging process. Here the pellets are bottled and sealed, and given a wrap-around label. We adhere as far as possible to anthroposophic principles – thus, our globuli velati do not contain alcohol, for example.
What is special about this dosage form?
With the globuli velati dosage form the active substances are present in the thin outer layer. Because of their spherical shape and because they are simply allowed to dissolve under the tongue, where the active substances are rapidly taken up by the mucous membrane of the mouth, taking globuli velati is truly sweet and easy!
