Biological effects of indirect contact with QELBY® powder on nonmacrophagic and macrophage-derived cell lines

Bioenergetics has been defined as the biology of energy transformations and energy exchanges within and between living organisms and their environment; this field now includes the concept of bioenergetic medicine, e.g., therapeutic approaches involving biophotons. QELBY® powder is a patented quantum energy-radiating material (patent No. 10-1172018), to be precise, a biologically active silicon dioxide-containing mineral powder that radiates reductive energy in infrared wavelength. In this study, we examined possible biological effects of indirect contact with QELBY® powder on various mammalian cell lines derived from macrophagic (MØ) and nonmacrophagic cells, including Raw 264.7 (mouse-derived MØ cell line), HD11 (chicken-derived MØ cell line), and HeLa (human cervical cancer cell line). Our comparison among the cells with and without indirect contact with QELBY® powder showed that this indirect contact significantly (i) increased the mitochondrial membrane potential (up to 1.36-fold) regardless of the cell type (p < 0.05), (ii) decreased the intracellular concentration of ATP in HeLa cells but not in the MØ-derived cells (p < 0.05), and (iii) protected DNA from damage during oxidative stress according to a standard comet assay (single-cell alkaline gel electrophoresis). Taken together, these results imply that indirect contact with QELBY® powder can make cells more metabolically active by increasing the mitochondrial membrane potential and by alleviating DNA damage caused by oxidative stress.