Antioxidant & inflammation

Early signs in cells and animals.

Laboratory and animal studies have reported antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of negative ions. It is an exciting early area, and one that has not yet been tested properly in people.

In skin cells

negative ions lowered particulate-induced inflammatory cytokines and reactive oxygen species (Kim et al., 2021).

In rats

less lipopolysaccharide-induced lung injury and faster wound healing in diabetic rats, with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects reported (Cheng et al., 2022).

In mice

stress-induced depression-like behaviour eased, and cytokine balance was restored, after 30 days of exposure (Hu et al., 2022).

The studies

  1. Early

    Negative air ions alleviate particulate matter-induced inflammation and oxidative stress in the human keratinocyte cell line HaCaT

    Kim M, Jeong GJ, Hong JY, Park KY, Lee M-K, Seo SJ · Annals of Dermatology 33(2):116–21 · 2021

    Cell culture (human skin cells exposed to particulate matter)

    Negative ions lowered particulate-induced pro-inflammatory cytokines (at mRNA and protein level), suppressed intracellular reactive oxygen species, and reduced p38 MAPK and AP-1 activation.

  2. Early

    Negative air ions through the action of antioxidation, anti-inflammation, anti-apoptosis and angiogenesis ameliorate lipopolysaccharide induced acute lung injury and promote diabetic wound healing in rat

    Cheng Y-H, Li H-K, Yao C-A, Huang J-Y, Sung Y-T, Chung S-D, Chien C-T · PLoS ONE 17(10):e0275748 · 2022

    Rat study (lipopolysaccharide-induced lung injury; diabetic wound model)

    The authors report antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic and angiogenic effects, less lung injury, and faster wound closure in treated diabetic rats. They note the mechanism is not fully established.

  3. Early

    Negative air ion exposure ameliorates depression-like behaviors induced by chronic mild stress in mice

    Hu Y-Q, Niu T-T, Xu J-M, Peng L, Sun Q-H, Huang Y, Zhou J, Ding Y-Q · Environmental Science and Pollution Research 29(41):62626–36 · 2022

    Mouse study, 30 days of exposure under chronic mild stress

    Ion exposure restored sucrose preference, reduced tail-suspension immobility, prevented the stress-induced rise in corticosterone and restored the balance of Th1/Th2 cytokines.

  4. Earlydetails to confirm

    Negative air ions attenuate nicotine-induced vascular endothelial dysfunction by suppressing AP1-mediated FN1 and SPP1

    Authors to confirm · Rat study; journal to confirm

    Rat study (spontaneously hypertensive rats)

    Per its summary, negative ions attenuated nicotine-induced damage to the lining of blood vessels, with antioxidant effects including higher SOD activity.

  5. Early

    The stimulatory effect of negative air ions and hydrogen peroxide on the activity of superoxide dismutase

    Kosenko EA, Kaminsky YG, Stavrovskaya IG, Sirota TV, Kondrashova MN · FEBS Letters 410:309–12 · 1997

    Laboratory (red blood cells from rat, cow, human and duck)

    Exposure to ion-generator air increased the activity of the antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD); the authors suggested micromolar hydrogen peroxide drives the effect.

  6. Earlydetails to confirm

    Associations of forest negative air ions exposure with cardiac autonomic nervous function and the related metabolic linkages: a repeated-measure panel study

    Liu S, Li C, Chu MT, et al. · Science of the Total Environment 850:158019 · 2022

    Observational panel study, 31 healthy adults, 3 days and 2 nights in a forest park

    Short-term exposure to forest negative ions was linked to better heart-rate variability, especially parasympathetic activity, along with metabolic changes the authors interpret as reflecting lower inflammation. It is observational, so it cannot show cause.

  7. Backgrounddetails to confirm

    Biological effects of negative air ions on human health and integrated multiomics to identify biomarkers: a literature review

    Xiao, et al. · Environmental Science and Pollution Research · 2023

    Literature review

    Reviews how negative ions are generated and how they have been linked to health, and proposes multiomics approaches to find biomarkers, with anti-inflammation among its themes.