Educational information, not medical advice — ask your doctor or midwife.
Asterias rubens is a homeopathic remedy made from the red starfish, a sea animal. In homeopathy it has been used mainly for breast pain and breast lumps. It has also been used for skin spots and for a tense, restless mood.
The remedy is made by diluting the starfish over and over. Each step shakes the liquid and cuts the strength again. At 30C, which is the most common strength sold, no starfish is left in the pills at all.
Human trials do not show that it works better than a dummy pill (placebo). Long use in homeopathy is not proof that a thing works. A breast lump needs a doctor, not a home remedy.
There is no known way for this remedy to act on the body.
Homeopaths work from an old idea called "like cures like". They say a tiny dose of something that causes symptoms can also ease those symptoms. They say that shaking and diluting leaves an imprint in the water.
Chemistry does not support that idea. At 30C the starfish has been diluted so far that not one molecule (the smallest unit of a substance) is left. Any change people notice is most likely a placebo effect, which means the effect comes from belief and attention, not from the pill.
Sugar pellets are the most common form.
You may also find: - Small round pellets or tablets that melt under the tongue - Liquid drops, often in an alcohol base - Mother tincture, the strong first extract, sold mainly to practitioners - Common strengths on the label such as 6C, 30C and 200C
The number and letter on the label tell you how far it was diluted. A higher number means more dilution, not more drug.
Asterias rubens entered homeopathy in the 1800s in France. The homeopath Petroz is credited with the first "proving", the test where healthy people take a substance and write down what they feel.
Homeopathic books have listed it ever since, mostly for breast complaints and for skin spots in young people. It is a known remedy, but not one of the main ones.
See a doctor within days if you find a new lump in a breast or armpit, if fluid leaks from a nipple, if the breast skin dimples or turns red, or if breast pain is only on one side and will not settle.
Go to urgent care the same day for a hot, swollen, painful breast with fever. That can be an infection.
Also see a doctor if spots or mood problems last more than a few weeks, or if any symptom gets worse while you use this remedy.
Evidence grades and traditional-use labels are explained in our methodology. Nothing here is medical advice.
Reviewed by the HealisticMD editorial team How we grade evidence →
The published evidence for Asterias rubens is weak or absent. That usually means no controlled trial has tested it, not that a trial found it ineffective — the two are different, and we grade only what has been published.
What it is typically used for, usual dose, cautions, and the study behind it where real trial data exists.
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