Introduction

During the 20th century we have experienced the rise of the major degenerative diseases such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes and cancer. A multibillion Pharmaceutical Industry has failed to produce one cure for any of these prevalent diseases. Moreover, the population has grown steadily older [1], overweight and obese [2] adding to the Public Health challenge.

Aerobic metabolism is an inherent feature of living organisms whose by-products include free radicals in the form of reactive oxygen species ROS. Negative ionic forms of H202, peroxynitrite (OONO-) and the hydroxyl radicle (OH-) constitute some of the most reactive ROS, which can severely damage DNA, RNA, and cell membranes. Aging is characterized by an abundance of these ROS in the context of diminished inactivating antioxidants. Denham Harman first proposed the free radical theory of aging [3] in the 1950s and in the 1970s extended the idea to implicate production of ROS [4]. Aging is characterized by oxidative stress.

Oxidative stress occurs anytime there exists an imbalance between antioxidants and free radicals, resulting in an abundance of reactive free radical species. Oxidative stress can have dramatic consequences on health. ROS are involved in the pathogenesis of multiple inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. In a recent publication we described the effects of “good ROS” [5] which are signaling molecules leading to increased cell proliferation, differentiation and maturation. In the present study we report the discovery of a new form of non-thermal plasma, Hybrid-plasma, HP, [6]. Preliminary analysis of [7,8] indicates that the major components of HP are the ionic form of hydrogen peroxide and the hydroxyl ion. We hypothesize that HP acts via the effects of “good” ROS which have anti-aging properties, among others.

Methods

According to a previous report [7], we formed an HP environment by adding 800mL distilled water to a 4000mL acrylic cylinder. Within 48 hours 2 measurements, humidity, 95%+ and ion counts, >2,000,000/sec indicated the presence of HP as determined from previous experimental studies [6]. Two pairs of plants of the same variety were used for this study. One plant was placed in the HP container on a platform above the water level and the container resealed with snap covers. The other of the pair was maintained in the outside environment. After 48 hours, the plants were removed from the container and each pair put in a cabinet in the dark. Plants were observed and photographed every 24 hours for one week.

Results

Figure 1: Plants of the same variety were placed in the dark for one week. The plant (left) was previously exposed to HP for 48 hours.

Figure 2: After 1 week in the dark, the plant exposed to HP (left) was relatively unchanged whereas, the untreated plant (right) was substantially smaller and showed wilting.

Ancillary Findings

When we moved the HP exposed plant to the ambient environment, the plants maintained a heathy status without adding water for periods of to 3 months. (See Figure 3).

Figure 3: Several Z-Z plants 3 months after they were previously exposed to HP for 48 hours. During that 3-month period they maintained normal but slow growth with no adverse effects. i.e., wilting, despite no watering.