Neuroprotective effects of lotus seedpod procyanidins on extremely low frequency electromagnetic field-induced neurotoxicity in primary cultured hippocampal neurons.
Yin C, Luo X, Duan Y, Duan W, Zhang H, He Y, Sun G, Sun X · 2016
View Original AbstractBrain cells exposed to strong magnetic fields showed significant damage and death, but natural antioxidants provided substantial protection.
Plain English Summary
Researchers exposed rat brain cells to 50 Hz magnetic fields and found significant damage including cell death and DNA harm. However, natural compounds from lotus seed pods prevented most of this damage, suggesting magnetic fields can harm brain cells but certain antioxidants may offer protection.
Why This Matters
This study adds important evidence to our understanding of how ELF magnetic fields affect brain cells at the cellular level. The 8 milliTesla exposure used here is quite high compared to typical household levels (which range from 0.01 to 1 milliTesla), but it's within the range you might encounter near high-voltage power lines or certain industrial equipment. What makes this research particularly valuable is that it demonstrates clear biological mechanisms of harm - the magnetic fields triggered oxidative stress, disrupted cellular energy production, and damaged DNA in brain cells. The fact that natural antioxidants could prevent much of this damage suggests the harm operates through well-understood pathways of cellular stress. While this was a laboratory study using isolated cells rather than whole animals or humans, it provides crucial mechanistic evidence for how EMF exposure might contribute to neurological problems.
Exposure Details
- Magnetic Field
- 8 mG
- Source/Device
- 50 Hz
- Exposure Duration
- 90 minutes
Exposure Context
This study used 8 mG for magnetic fields:
- 400Kx above the Building Biology guideline of 0.2 mG
- 80Kx above the BioInitiative Report recommendation of 1 mG
Building Biology guidelines are practitioner-based limits from real-world assessments. BioInitiative Report recommendations are based on peer-reviewed science. Check Your Exposure to compare your own measurements.
Where This Falls on the Concern Scale
Study Details
The present study investigated the protective effects of lotus seedpod procyanidins (LSPCs) on extremely low frequency electromagnetic field (ELF-EMF)-induced neurotoxicity in primary cultured rat hippocampal neurons and the underlying molecular mechanism.
The results of MTT, morphological observation, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA) ...
In conclusion, these findings revealed that LSPCs protected against ELF-EMF-induced neurotoxicity through inhibiting oxidative stress and mitochondrial apoptotic pathway.
Show BibTeX
@article{c_2016_neuroprotective_effects_of_lotus_484,
author = {Yin C and Luo X and Duan Y and Duan W and Zhang H and He Y and Sun G and Sun X},
title = {Neuroprotective effects of lotus seedpod procyanidins on extremely low frequency electromagnetic field-induced neurotoxicity in primary cultured hippocampal neurons.},
year = {2016},
url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0753332216304516},
}