Korean J Nutr.  2010 Dec;43(6):570-577. 10.4163/kjn.2010.43.6.570.

Effect of the Magnetized Water Supplementation on Lymphocyte DNA Damage in Mice Treated with Diethylnitrosamine

• Lee HJ
• Jo HR
• Jeon EJ
• Kang MH

• KMID: 2268053
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4163/kjn.2010.43.6.570

Abstract

Water gets magnetically charged when it is contacted with a magnet. Although magnetic water products have been promoted since the 1930's, they have received very little recognition due to questionable effectiveness. Diethylnitrosamine (DEN) is a widely occurring nitrosamine that is one of the most important environmental carcinogens primarily inducing tumors of liver. In this study, the effect of magnetized water supplementation on lymphocyte DNA damage in ICR mice treated with DEN was evaluated using the Comet assay. Mice were divided into 3 groups: control, DEN, and DEN + magnetized water group. Fifteen mice were maintained in each group for the entire experimental period of 6, 12 and 18 weeks. Five mice in each group were sacrificed at 6, 12, and 18th weeks, followed by the Comet assay using the blood obtained from heart puncture of the mice. The level of lymphocyte DNA damage reflected by tail moment and other DNA damage indices of tail DNA (%) or tail length of the magnetized water group were significantly decreased after the 6th, 12th and 18th weeks of supplementation compared with the positive control, the DEN group. The relative DNA damage of the magnetized water groups compared to the DEN control group after 6th, 12th, and 18th weeks of supplementation were 42.2%, 40.8%, and 32.9% for DNA in tail, 31.2%, 32.6%, and 21.3% for tail length, and 33.8%, 33.8%, and 24.6% for tail moment, respectively. This is the first report demonstrating that magnetized water may be involved in the lowering effect of the DNA damage in DEN-treated ICR mice. This result suggests that the magnetized water might have minimized the DNA damage by improving the antioxidant status of the mice. However, further studies are needed to characterize the condition of the magnetization and examine the long-term effect of the water product.

Keyword

magnetized water; DNA damage; comet assay; diethyl nitrosamine (DEN)

MeSH Terms

Animals
Carcinogens, Environmental
Comet Assay
Diethylnitrosamine
DNA
DNA Damage
Heart
Liver
Lymphocytes
Magnetics
Magnets
Mice
Mice, Inbred ICR
Punctures
Water
Carcinogens, Environmental
DNA
Diethylnitrosamine
Water

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Experimental design. DEN: diethyl nitrosamine, MW: magnetized water.

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  Fig. 2 Effect of 6-, 12- and 18-weeks treatment with a magnetic water on leukocyte DNA damage represented as DNA in tail (%) in diethyl nitrosamine (DEN)-treated ICR mice, respectively. Control: Negative control (n = 5), DEN control: Diethyl nitrosamine positive control (n = 5), DEN MW: DEN + Magnetic water (n = 4) Means with different letters are significantly different from control group (p < 0.05) by Duncan's multiple range test.

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  Fig. 3 Effect of 6-, 12- and 18-weeks treatment with a magnetic water on leukocyte DNA damage represented as tail length in diethyl nitrosamine (DEN)-treated ICR mice, respectively. Control: Negative control (n = 5), DEN control: Diethyl nitrosamine positive control (n = 5), DEN MW: DEN + Magnetic water (n = 4). Means with different letters are significantly different from control group (p < 0.05) by Duncan's multiple range test.

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  Fig. 4 Effect of 6-, 12- and 18-weeks treatment with a magnetic water on leukocyte DNA damage represented as tail moment in diethyl nitrosamine (DEN)-treated ICR mice, respectively. Control: Negative control (n = 5), DEN control: Diethyl nitrosamine positive control (n=5), DEN MW: DEN + Magnetic water (n = 4). Means with different letters are significantly different from control group (p < 0.05) by Duncan's multiple range test.

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  Fig. 5 Comparison of relative DNA damage levels (%) among negative control, positive diethyl nitrosamine (DEN) control, and 6-, 12-, 18-weeks magnetic water treated groups in DEN-treated ICR mice leukocyte. Control: Negative control, DEN control: Diethyl nitrosamine positive control, and DEN MW: DEN + Magnetic water. Means with different letters are significantly different from control group (p < 0.05) by Duncan's multiple range test.

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