*Corresponding author:
Anisur Rahman Khuda-Bukhsh, Department of Zoology, University of Kalyani, Husn Ara Manzil, Kalyani-741235, W.B, IndiaReceived: June 23, 2018; Published: July 06, 2018
DOI: 10.26717/BJSTR.2018.06.001355
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In homeopathy, ultra-highly diluted drugs are used with great benefits to treat various ailments in human and higher animals, but whether lower organisms (prokaryotes) with simple genetic system can also respond to homeopathic drugs was not known. To test if the homeopathic drug, Arnica Montana 30C (AM-30C), used against shock and injury, can modulate relevant gene expressions and oxidative stress, we exposed Escherichia coli (E. coli) to two doses of ultra-violet (UV) radiation and subsequently quantified its DNA damage and oxidative stress along with the expression of the nucleotide excision repair genes, uvr A, uvr B and uvr C in the drug-treated and placebo-treated (succussed alcohol, being “vehicle” of the drug) bacteria. Generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was also estimated and the gene expression patterns in them were compared. Certain other relevant parameters of study like comet assay, gel electrophoresis for DNA ladder, intra-cellular ROS generation, and other toxicity biomarkers like superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and reduced glutathione (GSH) were also conducted. Expressions of mRNA of the excision repair genes estimated by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method were analyzed. AM-30C treated bacteria showed less DNA damage and diminished oxidative stress, along with decrease in ROS generation, and a corresponding increase in SOD, CAT and GSH activities. AM-30C up-regulated the expression of the repair genes uvr A, B and C, validating prima facie the “gene regulatory hypothesis” that claims ultra-highly diluted homeopathic drugs to act through regulation of relevant gene expressions as the most plausible molecular mechanism.
Keywords: UV Radiation; Escherichia coli; DNA Damage; Intracellular ROS; Arnica Montana 30C; Nucleotide Excision Repair
Abbreviations ROS: Reactive Oxygen Species; NER: Nucleotide Excision Repair; UV: Ultra-Violet; CAM: Complementary and Alternative form of Medicines; CAT: Catalase; GSH: Glutathione; SOD: Superoxide Dismutase
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