Bidirectional frequency-dependent effect of extremely low-frequency electromagnetic field on E. coli K-12.

Electromagnetic biology and medicine · 2013 · Mixed · Low evidence

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MixedLow evidencePaper 4500

Frequency-dependent ELF EMF exposure (B = 0.4 mT, 30 min) showed bidirectional effects on E. coli K-12 proliferation: 4 Hz produced pronounced stimulation, while 8 Hz inhibited proliferation. Effects were studied both with bacteria present during exposure and…

Study snapshot

PublicationElectromagnetic biology and medicine · 2013

Study typein_vitro

Reported directionMixed

Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

In the present work, the frequency-dependent effects of extremely low-frequency electromagnetic field (ELF EMF) on Escherichia coli K-12 growth have been studied. The frequency-dependent effects of ELF EMF have shown that it can either stimulate or inhibit the growth of microbes. However, the mechanism by which the ELF EMF affects the bacterial cells is not clear yet. It was suggested that the aqua medium can serve as a target through which the biological effect of ELF EMF on microbes may be realized. To check this hypothesis, the frequency-dependent effects (2, 4, 6, 8, 10 Hz, B = 0.4 mT, 30 min) of ELF EMF on the bacterial growth were studied in both cases where the microbes were in the culture media during the exposure and where culture media was preliminarily exposed to the ELF EMF before the addition of bacteria. For investigating the cell proliferation, the radioactive [(3)H]-thymidine assay was carried out. It has been shown that EMF at 4 Hz exposure has pronounced stimulation while at 8 Hz it has inhibited cell proliferation.

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AI evidence extraction

Structured fields below were generated from the paper’s abstract and metadata to make the evidence easier to inspect. Automated extraction may be incomplete or incorrect; verify important details against the original paper.

Study typein_vitro

Effect directionmixed

PopulationEscherichia coli K-12

Sample sizeNot supplied

ExposureELF · 30 min

Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 78% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

Outcomes measured

Bacterial growth
Cell proliferation ([(3)H]-thymidine assay)

Limitations

Mechanism stated as not clear
No sample size reported in abstract
No quantitative effect sizes reported in abstract

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "in_vitro",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "ELF",
    "source": null,
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": "30 min"
  },
  "population": "Escherichia coli K-12",
  "sample_size": null,
  "outcomes": [
    "Bacterial growth",
    "Cell proliferation ([(3)H]-thymidine assay)"
  ],
  "main_findings": "Frequency-dependent ELF EMF exposure (B = 0.4 mT, 30 min) showed bidirectional effects on E. coli K-12 proliferation: 4 Hz produced pronounced stimulation, while 8 Hz inhibited proliferation. Effects were studied both with bacteria present during exposure and with culture media pre-exposed before adding bacteria.",
  "effect_direction": "mixed",
  "limitations": [
    "Mechanism stated as not clear",
    "No sample size reported in abstract",
    "No quantitative effect sizes reported in abstract"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.78,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "extremely low-frequency electromagnetic field",
    "ELF EMF",
    "Escherichia coli K-12",
    "frequency-dependent effects",
    "0.4 mT",
    "2 Hz",
    "4 Hz",
    "6 Hz",
    "8 Hz",
    "10 Hz",
    "cell proliferation",
    "[3H]-thymidine assay",
    "culture media pre-exposure"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "elf-emf",
      "weight": 0.9,
      "reason": "Study examines extremely low-frequency EMF (2–10 Hz) effects on bacterial proliferation."
    }
  ]
}

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AI-extracted fields are generated from the abstract and metadata and may be incomplete or incorrect. This material is for informational purposes and is not medical advice.

Identifiers and source

DOI: 10.3109/15368378.2012.712587
PubMed: 23046211

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