An Impact of the Trivedi Effect - Biofield Energy Healing on Herbomineral Formulation for Immunomodulation of Pro-inflammatory Cytokines in Biofield Treated Mouse Splenocytes

Herbomineral formulations have increased in recognition and popularity due to their high safety and better therapeutic action. A new proprietary herbomineral formulation was formulated with a mixture of the herbal root extract of ashwagandha and three minerals viz. zinc, magnesium, and selenium. The aim of the study was to evaluate the immunomodulatory potential of Biofield Energy Healing (The Trivedi Effect) on the test formulation when applied to splenocyte cells isolated from the Biofield Treated mice. The test formulation was divided into two parts. One part was denoted as the control without any Biofield Energy Treatment. The other part was defined as the Biofield Energy Treated sample, which received the Biofield Energy Healing Treatment remotely by seven renowned Biofield Energy Healers. A wide concentration range (0.00001053 to 10.53 μg/mL) of the test formulation was used to determine non-cytotoxic concentrations using MTT assay. Further, the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, MIP-1α, and IL-1β) was determined by ELISA method. The test formulation was evaluated and found to be safe up to 1.053 μg/mL with a percentage cell viability range of 73% to 97% using MTT assay. The Biofield Treated formulation improved the cell viability up to 6.61% compared with the untreated test formulation. TNF-α expression was significantly inhibited by 16.72% at 0.1053 μg/mL compared with the untreated test formulation, however expression was significantly altered by 53.67% and 25.62% at 0.01053 and 1.053 μg/mL, respectively compared to the untreated test formulation. TNF-α expression was also suppressed in the Biofield Treated test formulation at 0.001053 and 0.1053 μg/mL by 4.0% and 8.56%, respectively as compared with the vehicle control. MIP-1α suppression was reported in the Biofield Treated test formulation at 0.00001053 to 1.053 μg/mL by 8.43%, 22.02%, 21.92%, 20.54%, 5.40%, and 19.82%, respectively compared with the vehicle control. However, the Biofield Treated formulation further exhibited substantial suppression of MIP-1α at 0.0001053, 0.001053, 0.01053, and 0.1053 μg/mL by 13.50%, 7.38%, 36.83% (p≤0.001), and 2.53%, respectively compared with the untreated test formulation. In addition, significant inhibition of IL-1β secretion was reported in the Biofield Treated formulation at 0.0001053, 0.001053, 0.01053, and 0.01053 μg/mL by 32.40%, 14.99%, 60.42%, and 15.15%, respectively compared with the untreated test formulation. The Biofield Energy Healing Treatment significantly potentiated the immunosuppressive effect of the test formulation in Biofield Treated mouse splenocytes, which can be used for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, stress management and anti-aging by improving overall health.