Ozone concentration dependant autohaemotherapy effects on baboon antioxidant capacity and DNA integrity and repair capacity of lymphocytes

Abstract

Although ozone is widely used as an alternative medicine, its safety and efficiency are met with scepticism. To shed some light on this, we assessed the effect of ozone-autohaemotherapy, using an O2/O3 gas mixture containing three different O3 concentrations (20, 40 and 80 μg/ml), on the antioxidant status and lymphocyte DNA integrity in baboons. Ultra pure O2 was used as a control because more than 95% of the O2/O3 gas mixture consisted of oxygen. Five percent of the blood volume of a baboon was withdrawn and treated with O3. Baboons were anesthetized with intramuscular ketamine hydrochloride (±10 mg/kg). Blood was collected before ozone-autohaemotherapy and again 4, 24 and 48 h after treatment. In general, the changes in measurements were concentration dependant. Ozoneautohaemotherapy up regulated the antioxidant capacity as measured by the Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity assay. Total glutathione levels decreased after ozone-autohaemotherapy, most likely due to reaction with reactive oxygen species that was quenched by the GSH system. The activity of superoxide dismutase increased after ozone-autohaemotherapy with 20 μg/ml O3. Ozoneautohaemotherapy caused a slight increase in DNA damage. However, very little DNA damage occurred following treatment with 80 μg/ml O3, which also caused the highest increase in the antioxidant capacity. DNA repair capacity decreased and thus can have severe long term effects