The term hormesis (see Calabrese et al., 2007 for a detailed consideration of the definition and uses of hormesis) has been most widely used in the toxicology field where investigators use it to describe a biphasic dose response with a low dose stimulation or beneficial effect and a high dose inhibitory or toxic effect.
The concept of hormesis reflects the finding that many agents and environmental conditions can have opposing effects at low or high doses. Small amounts of a stressor or toxin may provide protection against subsequent higher doses of the harmful agent in question or against the damage caused by a different adverse event. This is known as the “adaptive response” or “pre-conditioning”.
The Hormesis Concept: Strengths and Shortcomings by Stephen C. Bondy
The acceptance of the concept of hormesis, a specific type of nonmonotonic dose response, has accelerated in recent years (Academie Nationale de Medecine 2005; Cendergreen et al. 2005; Kaiser 2003; Puatanachokchai et al. 2005; Randic and Estrada 2005; Renner 2003). Nonetheless, it has not been without its detractors. One article critical of the concept was published last year in Environmental Health Perspectives (Thayer et al. 2005). It provided a summary of the major points of contention and thus a convenient vehicle for us to use in responding to opposing perspectives.
Cook R, Calabrese EJ. The importance of hormesis to public health. Environ Health Perspect. 2006 Nov;114(11):1631-5. doi: 10.1289/ehp.8606. PMID: 17107845; PMCID: PMC1665397.
Hormesis refers to the evolutionary conserved adaptive responses of all living organisms to mild environmental, nutritional or even voluntary challenges through which the system amends its tolerance to more dangerous stress factors [29].
Medical Hypotheses Volume 120, November 2018, Pages 28-42Medical Medical Hypotheses Intermittent living; the use of ancient challenges as a vaccine against the deleterious effects of modern life – A hypothesis Leo Pruimboom a, Frits A.J. Muskiet b
Hormesis and the Salk Polio Vaccine Edward J. Calabrese, Ph.D. Dose Response. 2012; 10(1): 91–95. Published online 2011 Oct 25. doi: 10.2203/dose-response.11-032.Calabrese PMCID: PMC3299531 PMID: 22423232 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3299531/
ホルミシスとホメオパシー
Another difficulty in evaluation of hormesis-related literature is that it can sometimes be used in justification of, and doorway leading to dubious concepts such as homeopathy [6,7,8,9].
The Hormesis Concept: Strengths and Shortcomings by Stephen C. Bondy
Hormesis has been defined as a biphasic dose-response relationship in which the response at low doses is opposite to the effect at high doses [1]. According to this concept, a small dose of a noxious agent can exert a beneficial action. Some publications generalizing hormesis [9,10] can be cited in support of homeopathy. However, claims that homeopathy is based on hormesis create an illusion that it employs a scientific method. The difference between hormesis and homeopathy is that hormesis can be observed at low but measurable concentrations; while homeopathy claims effects of infinite dilutions, whereas the concept of memory of water [8] is used as an explanation.
Update on hormesis and its relation to homeopathy Author links open overlay panelMenachem Oberbaum 1, Cornelius Gropp 2 Homeopathy Volume 104, Issue 4, October 2015, Pages 227-233 Homeopathy https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1475491615000569
