The use of inhaled plasma, generated by an atmospheric-pressure plasma (APP) reactor, in a rat myocardial infarction (MI) model resulted in an increased saturation pulse oxygen (SpO 2 ) level in the blood, which suggests that this method can be beneficial in restoring heart function following cardiac ischemia. Additionally, in vivo blood pressure decreased from 89/81 to 73/60 mmHg in the abdominal aorta during plasma inhalation. The nitric oxide (NO) concentration in the abdominal aorta increased after 20 s of plasma inhalation, reaching a maximum value at about 160 s and gradually decreased thereafter.

Biophotons are a type of ultra-weak luminescence emitted from living organisms due to biological reactions and are effective as a non-contact and non-invasive diagnostic tool for diseases caused by oxidative stress. We measured biophotons emitted from a wound irradiated with atmospheric pressure plasma containing reactive species that produce an effect similar to oxidative stress. We evaluated the effectiveness of this non-contact and non-invasive diagnostic approach for measuring time-dependent changes in inflammation and tissue regeneration based on photons emitted during these processes.

The present study demonstrated non-contact and non-invasive monitoring of plant growth by combining atmospheric pressure remote plasma treatment with measurement of the ultra-weak luminescence of biophotons emitted from plants. Biophotons were more likely to be emitted from plasma-irradiated seeds than from unirradiated seeds. Furthermore, these results could characterize the germination state of seeds in a non-contact and non-invasive manner and will help elucidate the potential mechanisms underlying the growth-promoting effects of plasma irradiation as well as the development of “plasma agriculture”.

Colorectal cancer affects a large number of people. There is an urgent need to develop novel treatments for this disease. In recent years, research on medical applications of atmospheric low temperature plasma (ALTP) has been actively conducted, and cancer treatment is one of the targets. In this study, we focused on colorectal cancer and evaluated plasma as a new treatment method. In vivo and in vitro experiments were conducted using plasma-treated saline (PTS) and plasma-treated medium (PTM) prepared by submerged bubbling treatment using ALTP. In vivo experiments using a rat model of colorectal cancer revealed that PTS administration to the colon slowed tumor progression based on endoscopic and histopathological observations. To investigate the cause of the inhibition of tumor progression, we evaluated the impact of ALTP on colon cancer cells. As a result of culturing colorectal cancer cells with PTM, cell proliferation was inhibited. Also, cell death was induced by cell swelling. qPCR revealed that PTMs induced cell death of cancer cells through signaling of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), an inflammatory cytokine. Therefore, the inhibition of cancer progression by PTS in the rat model occurs by inducing cell death through the dissolution of ALTP components in the liquid.

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