Sea water therapy is a technique of cellular nutrition backed by more than 100 years of clinical use in hospitals, during which numerous studies have demonstrated its beneficial effects on patients' health.
Researchers at the University of Alicante, in collaboration with Laboratorios Quinton, exclusively devoted to preparing microfiltered seawater in cold, have conducted a study that shows that sea water activates the immune system. Its protective effect strengthens the body against viruses, low defences, bacteria, and other seasonal pathogens.
The study has been conducted through a research agreement between Laboratorios Quinton and the Research Group in Immunology of the University of Alicante, group led by Dr. José Miguel Sempere.
Sea water contains many minerals with known antioxidant and immunomodulatory effects, such as selenium, silicon and zinc. Sodium and chloride are essential for the normal functioning of all body cells, including the cells involved in the immune response.
In Quinton products there still exists a greater bioavailability of these elements, up to a total of 78 elements, so their ionomineral quality is superior to any other products currently on the market. The use of microfiltration in cold as a sterilization method is a plus. Laboratorios Quinton is the only pharmaceutical company in the world that uses this technique for treating seawater. The main advantage is that it provides a safeguard of the natural properties of seawater, as it reduces the appearance of free radicals.
The research results confirm significant immunomodulatory activity of Quinton products both in vitro (isotonic solution) and in vivo (physiological saline) which had not yet been studied so thoroughly, and the most relevant results of this study were exposed by Dr. Sempere in the XIV International Conference of Immunology held in Kobe (Japan) last year.
Study Results
As noted by Dr. Sempere, "the results of this study have been obtained by a proliferation test in vitro cell proliferation," which is one of the most commonly used tests to analyze the effect of different drugs on the immune system."
The study confirms that leukocytes cultured in vitro with isotonic solution maintain their morphology and viability during the culture, without added stimuli, producing cell activation, leading to immune response and show a clear increase in the intracytoplasmic production of some of the main cytokines related with an activation of cellular immunity.
Cellular immunity is especially effective in the removal of infectious agents predominantly of intracellular growth, as is the case of some viruses, bacteria and parasites. "It also plays a key role in the elimination of many tumours," says Dr. Sempere.
Another finding of this research is the protective / conservative effect on the red blood cells throughout the cell culture, as evidenced by the virtual absence of release of haemoglobin to the medium during the 120-144 hours of culture. This represents the starting point for further in vitro and in vivo studies that could even search for a possible beneficial effect in organ preservation.
The study also revealed that the Quinton hypertonic solution, administered orally to healthy individuals is able to activate the immune system, increasing the expression of leukocyte activation markers and adhesion molecules, depending on the needs of the organism at each moment.
"Following the results obtained so far in our investigation, we can consider that Quinton products may be used in many diseases, not only as preventive and palliative treatment, but also complementing other drugs to reduce its adverse effects," concludes Dr. José Miguel Sempere.
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