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The effect of different strengths of extremely low-frequency electric fields on antioxidant status, lipid peroxidation, and visual evoked potentials.

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Akpinar D, Ozturk N, Ozen S, Agar A, Yargicoglu P. · 2012

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Extremely low-frequency electric field exposure increased oxidative stress markers and slowed visual evoked potentials in female rats.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers divided thirty female Wistar rats, aged 3 months, into three equal groups: a control group, a group exposed to electric fields at 12 kV/m, and a group exposed at 18 kV/m, with exposure applied for 14 days at 1 hour per day. Brain and retina oxidative stress markers were significantly increased in both exposed groups compared to the control group. Total antioxidant status levels were significantly decreased in both brain and retina in the exposed groups compared to the control group. All visual evoked potential components were significantly prolonged in rats exposed to electric fields compared to the control group.

Why This Matters

The study measured both oxidative stress and a functional brain measure, visual evoked potentials, to look for effects of extremely low-frequency electric fields. All latencies of visual evoked potential components were also increased in the E18 group with respect to the E12 group. The researchers suggested that electric-field-induced lipid peroxidation may play an important role in the changes seen in visual evoked potential parameters.

Exposure Details

Electric Field
12000 and 18000 V/m
Source/Device
50 Hz
Exposure Duration
14 days (1 h/day)

Exposure Context

This study used 12000 and 18000 V/m for electric fields:

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.

A logarithmic frequency spectrum from 10 Hz to 100 GHz showing where this study's 50 Hz exposure sits relative to common EMF sources.Where This Frequency Sits on the EMF SpectrumELFVLFLF / MFHF / VHFUHFSHFmm10 Hz100 GHzThis study: 50 HzCell phones~1 GHzWiFi2.4 GHz5G mm28 GHzLogarithmic scale

Study Details

The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of extremely low-frequency electric field (ELF EF) on visual evoked potential (VEP), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), total antioxidant status (TAS), total oxidant status (TOS), and oxidant stress index (OSI).

Thirty female Wistar rats, aged 3 months, were divided into three equal groups: Control (C), the gro...

Brain and retina TBARS, TOS, and OSI were significantly increased in the E12 and E18 groups with res...

Cite This Study
Akpinar D, Ozturk N, Ozen S, Agar A, Yargicoglu P. (2012). The effect of different strengths of extremely low-frequency electric fields on antioxidant status, lipid peroxidation, and visual evoked potentials. Electromagn Biol Med. 31(4):436-448, 2012.
Show BibTeX
@article{d_2012_the_effect_of_different_217,
  author = {Akpinar D and Ozturk N and Ozen S and Agar A and Yargicoglu P.},
  title = {The effect of different strengths of extremely low-frequency electric fields on antioxidant status, lipid peroxidation, and visual evoked potentials.},
  year = {2012},
  doi = {10.3109/15368378.2012.692342},
  url = {https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3109/15368378.2012.692342},
}
DOI: 10.3109/15368378.2012.692342

Cited By (21 papers)

Quick Questions About This Study

The study used thirty female Wistar rats aged 3 months.
Electric fields were applied for 14 days at 1 hour per day to the exposed groups.
TBARS levels were significantly increased in the E18 group compared with the E12 group.
All visual evoked potential components were significantly prolonged in rats exposed to electric fields compared to the control group.
The researchers suggested that electric-field-induced lipid peroxidation may play an important role in changes of visual evoked potential parameters.