Oxidative stress in broad bean (Vicia faba L.) induced by static magnetic field under natural radioactivity.
Jouni FJ, Abdolmaleki P, Ghanati F. · 2012
View Original AbstractStatic magnetic fields at 15 millitesla overwhelmed cellular defenses and caused DNA damage in plants, especially when combined with radiation.
Plain English Summary
Researchers exposed broad bean plants to static magnetic fields for eight days, finding reduced antioxidant defenses and DNA damage. Effects worsened when combined with naturally radioactive soil, demonstrating that magnetic fields can overwhelm biological protection systems and cause genetic harm in living organisms.
Why This Matters
This plant study reveals how static magnetic fields can compromise biological defense systems at the cellular level. The 15 millitesla exposure used here is roughly 300 times stronger than Earth's natural magnetic field, comparable to what you might encounter very close to certain industrial equipment or powerful magnets. What makes this research particularly compelling is how it demonstrates the cumulative effect of multiple environmental stressors - the combination of magnetic field exposure and natural radiation produced more severe oxidative damage than either stressor alone. The science demonstrates that living systems have finite capacity to handle electromagnetic stress, and when that capacity is exceeded, genetic damage occurs. While this study used plants rather than human subjects, the fundamental biological processes of oxidative stress and DNA damage are remarkably similar across species, making these findings relevant to human health concerns.
Exposure Details
- Magnetic Field
- 15 mG
- Exposure Duration
- 8 days, each 8 h/day
Exposure Context
This study used 15 mG for magnetic fields:
- 750Kx above the Building Biology guideline of 0.2 mG
- 150Kx 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 investigation was performed to evaluate the influence of the static magnetic field on oxidative stress in Vicia faba cultivated in soil from high background natural radioactivity in Iran.
Soil samples were collected from Ramsar, Iran where the annual radiation absorbed dose from backgrou...
The results showed that in the plants cultivated in soils with high background natural radioactivity...
The results suggest that exposure to static magnetic field causes accumulation of reactive oxygen species in V. faba and natural radioactivity of soil exaggerates oxidative stress.
Show BibTeX
@article{fj_2012_oxidative_stress_in_broad_392,
author = {Jouni FJ and Abdolmaleki P and Ghanati F.},
title = {Oxidative stress in broad bean (Vicia faba L.) induced by static magnetic field under natural radioactivity.},
year = {2012},
url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1383571811003366},
}