Protective effect of melatonin against in vitro iron ions and 7 mT 50 Hz magnetic field-induced DNA damage in rat lymphocytes.
Jajte J, Zmyślony M, Palus J, Dziubałtowska E, Rajkowska E. · 2001
View Original AbstractMelatonin reduced DNA damage in rat lymphocytes exposed to iron ions and a 7 mT 50 Hz magnetic field, with near-complete protection at 1.0 mM.
Plain English Summary
Researchers used the alkaline comet assay to assess DNA damage in rat peripheral blood lymphocytes exposed in vitro to iron ions and a 50 Hz magnetic field. Cell samples were incubated for 3 hours in Helmholtz coils at 7 mT 50 Hz, and some were treated with ferrous chloride at 10 μg/ml during that exposure. A significant increase in cells with DNA damage was found only after simultaneous exposure to ferrous chloride and the 7 mT 50 Hz magnetic field, compared to control samples or those incubated with ferrous chloride alone. When cells were treated with melatonin before that combined exposure, the number of damaged cells was significantly reduced, with the reduction reaching about 50% at 0.5 mM and about 100% at 1.0 mM.
Why This Matters
The study tested whether melatonin, described as an established free radicals scavenger, could protect against DNA damage linked to magnetic field and iron ion exposure in rat peripheral blood lymphocytes. The finding that melatonin reduced the damage led the researchers to suggest that free radicals may be involved in the DNA damage induced by the 50 Hz magnetic field combined with iron ions. The authors noted that future in vitro and in vivo studies would be needed to clarify the role of melatonin in free radical processes related to power frequency magnetic fields.
Exposure Details
- Magnetic Field
- 7 mT
- Source/Device
- 50 Hz
Exposure Context
This study used 7 mT for magnetic fields:
- 350Kx above the Building Biology guideline of 0.2 mG
- 70Kx 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
In the present study, to confirm our hypothesis, we have examined the effect of melatonin, an established free radicals scavenger, on DNA damage in rat peripheral blood lymphocytes exposed in vitro to iron ions and 50 Hz MF.
The alkaline comet assay was chosen for the assessment of DNA damage. During pre-incubation, part of...
A significant increase in the number of cells with DNA damage was found only after simultaneous expo...
The future experimental studies, in vitro and in vivo, should provide an answer to the question concerning the role of melatonin in the free radical processes in the power frequency magnetic field.
Show BibTeX
@article{j_2001_protective_effect_of_melatonin_388,
author = {Jajte J and Zmyślony M and Palus J and Dziubałtowska E and Rajkowska E.},
title = {Protective effect of melatonin against in vitro iron ions and 7 mT 50 Hz magnetic field-induced DNA damage in rat lymphocytes.},
year = {2001},
url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0027510701002305},
}