Biochemic cell salts are remedies based on inorganic salts. Although highly diluted, they are not classed as homeopathic remedies, as they are not purported to act according to the "like cures like" principle of homeopathy.[1]

Tissue salt tablets
Inorganic salts were first used as homeopathic remedies by Samuel Hahnemann, and further developed by Dr. Willhelm Heinrich Schüßler (1821-1898) who identified 12 different salts in human tissue, and concluded that they are important mineral constitiuents that are present in human cells. He also stated that if an imbalance were to occur, sickness may follow. This is in line with current medical knowledge. He ascribed a specific purpose to each one of the 12 salts, based on his understading of their biochemical purpose. [2] However, since his original work, the understanding of the role of minerals in the body has undergone great advances, making his disease and deficiency model obsolete. He also performed clinical experiments in the form of homeopathic "provings".[3]

These days, tissue salts are prescribed as tablets, made up with lactose powder in a manner similar to homeopathic products: The salt is ground with lactose powder in a ratio of 1:9, and this mixture is then ground with fresh lactose, again in a 1:9 ratio. This process is repeated six times, yielding a 1 000 000 to 1 dilution. Because of this dilution, tissue salts are generally prescribed at dosages that are too low to have any detectable effect on the levels of the minerals and electrolytes involved, and no well-designed clinical trials have ever shown an effect other than placebo from tissue salts.

The twelve salts described by Schüßler, together with the abbreviated names under which they are sold, are:

Calcium fluoride (calc fluor)
Calcium phosphate (calc phos)
Calcium sulphate (calc sulph)
Potassium chloride (kali mur)
Potassium phosphate (kali phos)
Potassium sulphate (kali sulph)
Sodium phosphate (nat phos)
Sodium sulphate (nat sulph)
Sodium chloride (nat mur)
Ferric pyrophosphate (ferrum phos)
Magnesium phosphate (mag phos)
Silicon dioxide (silicea)
The combination of all 12 in one formula is called by its non-trade name Bioplasma