ACUPUNCTURE & ELECTRO-THERAPEUTICS RES.. INT. J,. Vol. 15. pp. 85-94.

1990
Copyright (c) 1990 Pergamon Press pic. Printed in the USA.
0360-1293/90 $3.00+ .00

MEASUREMENTS OF HUMAN BIOLOMTNESCENCE

by

R. Edwards, B . S c , M.C. Ibison, Ph.D.,

J. Jessel-Kenyon M.D. and R.B. Taylor, Ph.D.
The Dove Healing Trust, Hill Farmhouse, Ruäd Lane,
Michelmersh, Romsey, S051 ONV, U.K.

(Received March 20,1990; Accepted June 30,1990)

ABSTRACT: In measuring the output of light from the human skin,

we estimated the total photon rates to be of the order
of 170-600 photons/s/cm , depending on anatomical
location. The light was strongest at the red end of
the spectrum, but fell below detectable levels in the
ultraviolet. Significant v a r i a t i o n s were observed
between individuals in both photon rate and spectral
profile. The photon rate also varied significantly
with time for a single individual. The possible source
of this light and its significance are discussed.

KEY WORDS: Luminescence, bioluminescence, phosphorescence,

spectrum, coherence, photon, biophoton, light.

INTRODUCTION

Besides the high-intensity bioluminescence which is well-known as

a specialised function - eg in the firefly - it is now recognised
that virtually all living cells and organisms emit an "ultraweak"
luminescence [1,2]. The intensity has been estimated at about 1
photon per cell in 3-20 min for mammalian cells [3]. It tends to
be strongest in the red end of the spectrum and weakest in the
blue. A contribution in the ultraviolet has been reported in
p l a n t s and micro-organisms, but apparently not so far from
mammalian tissues.

Much of the longer wavelengths, and particularly the red, can be

traced to certain activated molecular species (principally
carbonyl and singlet oxygen) which arise from the breakdown of
p e r o x y r a d i c a l s formed during oxidative metabolism [see 3 ] .

The significance of this light is much in debate. Some see it as

no more than an inevitable by-product of oxidative metabolism. On
the other hand, there is increasing interest in the possibility
85
86 R. EDWARDS et al.

that it may have a functional role. A great deal of speculation

has centred on the possibility that ultraweak luminescence, and
biological electromagnetic excitations generally, may take on the
condition of coherence. If they did it would support a theory,
originated largely by Fröhlich [ 4 ] , which gives coherent
excitations a central role in biological organisation, and indeed
promises to transform our understanding of the nature of the
living state [ 4 ] . In this case the oscillations would exist
mostly in virtual form and only occasionally leak out to become
detectable as photons. From studies on ultraweak luminescence in
plant seedlings, Popp has adduced evidence that it is at least
partially coherent [ 5 ] . He argues that it would be generated
within the DNA and would carry gene-specific information [6]. A
f u n c t i o n a l r o l e for s u c h l i g h t is s u g g e s t e d by t h e m a n y
publications on "mitogenic rays" [1].

Very little work has been done so far on luminescence from the
intact human subject. In one report count rates averaged 15%
over background. It w a s claimed that some individuals could
increase the rate up to 100% at will [7]. In addition, some of
our results have already appeared, together with a more extensive
review of the background [8].

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Materials

Figure 1 shows our setup which consists of a photon-detection

system in a light-proof room with a link to a remote computer.
The photomultiplier is part of a Thorn-EMI PDS system which comes
complete with detector, discriminator, and counting electronics.
T h e t u b e is a B i - A l k a l i 9 8 1 4 Q B w h i c h h a s a p e a k q u a n t u m
efficiency of about 27% in the UV, falling to .01% around 650nm.
The QE as a function of wavelength is given in Figure 2.

The tube is mounted in a sealed housing with a quartz window

where it is kept at a constant temperature of -23°C. The dark
noise for these experimental conditions has a mean of around 10
cps (counts per second) with near-Poisson distribution (Fig.3).

Human bioluminescence produces photon count rates of the same

order as that of the tube noise, and so it is important to keep
additional noise contributions to a minimum. Our light-proof
dark-room was specially constructed for the measurement of human
b i o l u m i n e s c e n c e . It has no windows, a single sealed doorway,
v a r i a b l e i n t e n s i t y h a l o g e n l i g h t i n g , and a l i g h t - p r o o f
heating/ventilating system.

Early experiments showed that most man-made and many organic

m a t e r i a l s have a long-lived component of phosphorescence,
detectable over 24 hours after exposure to incandescent lighting
of modest (100W) power. In order to reduce noise from such
sources, the walls, ceiling, floor and benches were covered with
acrylic matt black paint.
 HUMAN BIOLUMINESCENCE

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UAVELENGTH (NM)

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2500

2000

1500

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10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 2 « 2* 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 46 50

COUNTS P S R SECOND
88 ñ. E D W A R D S et al.

Data from the photon-detection system in the dark-room is taken

through an interface to a computer in the control room. The
computer performs the following functions:

i) logging, plotting, analysis and printing of the PDS data;

ii) monitor of dark-room temperature sensors;
iii) control of color filters via a stepper motor;
iv) send status signals to audio-transducer in the dark-room.

A filter wheel carries up to 5 Kodak gelatin 'Wratten' filters

which can be interposed between subject and photomultiplier. Four
low-pass edge filters were chosen to cover the visible spectrum,
and the fifth aperture rendered opaque to serve as a control. The
spectra presented below were each achieved over a period of 1500
seconds corresponding to 2 cycles of the filter wheel at 15 0
seconds for each filter.

Method

Subjects to be measured were dressed in dull (grey, brown, black)

clothing. A r e a s to be scanned were washed and (except for
phosphorescence measurements) shielded from ambient light for one
hour beforehand. For example, the hand to be measured was
protected in a dark-coloured, closely-woven glove. The subject
was then taken into the dark room and positioned in front of the
tube. A fixed frame made it possible to keep the hand immobile
for long periods, and to reposition it accurately. The lights
were then extinguished and counts made of the background rate
until this became constant (less than 30 min.) before starting
the experiment.

RESULTS

Phosphorescence

Like the majority of materials we studied, after exposure to

light, the human skin exhibits phosphorescence. Fig. 4 shows the
decay of such phosphorescence from a human palm starting from one
minute after exposure to strong sunlight. The measurement period
was fixed at 60 seconds, giving an RMS deviation (assuming
Poisson statistics) of 1 cps for a measured rate of 60 c p s .
Included for comparison is the simultaneous rate recorded from
the unexposed palm of the same subject.

Temporal variation

Fig.5 represents one example out of a number of long-term

studies. Measurements were made about once every 1.5 hours over a
28 hour period, during which the subject maintained the usual
eating and sleeping patterns - subject to the constraints of the
measurement process. The measurement period of 1-2 minutes was
long enough to yield an RMS deviation of less than 2 % . In
 HUMAN BIOLUMINESCENCE 89

addition the error bars have been extended to take into account
any possible misalignment between measurements. Even so, a marked
variation with time must be admitted. Although several such
measurements have been made, the data are not sufficient for us
to perform a Fourier analysis to reveal diurnal periodicities
with any confidence.

Several continuous measurements over shorter intervals of up to

one hour have also been made. These have revealed a smooth
variation of the count rate with time, with stationary points
not clearly discernable any more frequently than once every 30
minutes.

Topographical variation

The count rates for five different areas of the body have been
measured for the two subjects MI and RT, and the results are
given in Table 1. The areas were chosen for ease of measurement,
given our constraints on the positioning of equipment. Exposure
times were around 6 minutes per location for each subject.
Estimates for the standard deviation based on the (a posteriori)
measured fluctuations in the rate are given in brackets. These
estimates include the contribution from the tube noise which has
been subtracted from the measured rates to give the nett rate for
each location.

Individual variation

It has been found from a series of trials that the two subjects
have consistently different rates from the hand (see the results
for the spectra below), but it is clear from these results that
there is no simple scaling factor linking the intensity of
bioluminescence between like regions of the body. The largest
difference is between the foreheads of the two subjects, although
the rates detected from the lower back, hand, and forehead are
all significantly different. So far, we have found that the
distribution of light over the locations in question remains
broadly constant for a particular individual.

Table 1. Rates (in cps) detected from different areas of the body
for two subjects.

Location Rate for RT Rate for MI

abdomen 4.05 (0.12) 4.14 (0.17)

lower back 6.60 (0.11) 4.87 (0.19)
heart 5.42 (0.14) 5.63 (0.15)
forehead 23.47 (0.12) 7.71 (0.15)
hand 27.08 (0.10) 20.87 (0.24)
90 R . E D W A R D S et al.

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Fig. 6. Time
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 HUMAN BIOLUMINESCENCE 91

Source of luminescence

Since both the hand and forehead have relatively high populations
of surface bacteria, the above results suggest that bacterial
luminescence might be reponsible for the high counts from these
areas. To test this idea, we measured the luminescence from the
print left by the forehead (unwashed for 24 hours) on a copper
sheet. However, the increase in rate above background was less
than 1 cps.

In view of the relatively high blood flow of the hand it was of

interest to study the possible contribution of blood to the
luminescence. He have found that, although blood fluoresces
strongly when exposed to ambient light, no radiation was
detectable from samples of human blood taken in semi-darkness,
even after these had been thoroughly oxygenated. He therefore
discount blood as a significant source of endogenous radiation.

However,these findings do not discount the possibility that the

blood plays a role in production of human luminescence, for
instance by virtue of its supply of oxygen and nutrients to the
t i s s u e s . S o m e s u p p o r t for t h i s c o m e s from t h e f o l l o w i n g
experiment, in which the count rate for the palm was monitored
before, during, and after the application of a tourniquet around
the upper arm (Fig. 6 ) . The period of application is marked by
the pointers 'a' and 'b', bounding an interval of 100 seconds.
The background throughout was 60 cps. The mean rate during this
interval was about 15% lower than the control. On removing the
tourniquet the rate rose to about 120% of the control - probably
related to reactive hyperaemia.

Spectra

Figures 7-10 show results for the spectral density of light from
two subjects on different days. The visible spectrum is divided
up into four bands approximately corresponding to the colors:
blue, green, yellow, and red. The vertical axis measures the
spectral density of radiation as seen from the surface of the
skin corrected for aperture and filter losses, and for the
spectral sensitivity of the tube. The error bars define the + l
std. dev. as estimated from a combination of the Poisson
statistics of the photon counts and the uncertainty in the tube
sensitivity - the latter being greatest at the red end of the
spectrum.

There is a clear trend of increasing flux towards the red but,

because of the temporal variation already noted, we cannot be
sure of the shape of the spectral curve in more detail. From a
number of measurements in the UV region (410nm-240nm) we have
been unable to reveal a significant departure from the tube noise
rate, and thus put the spectral density in this region below 1
2
photon/cm /s/nm.

Given the smoothness of the tube spectral sensitivity, we are

however justified in using these spectra to estimate the total
visible photon flux density from the surface of the hand (Table
 Fig. 8.

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 HUMAN BIOLUMINESCENCE 93

2 ) . Clearly the differences between subjects are significant

(p<.01). The difference between the flux densities from the same
subject at different times is already known to be significant,
but the data obtained so far are insufficient to determine if the
(normalised) spectral profile remains unchanged over time.

Table 2. Total photon fluxes calculated from the palm spectra,

(see Fig. 7 ) .
2
Fia. Subject
Subiect Photon flux in photons/s/cro -

7 RT (1) 600 (65)

8 RT (2) 520 (65)
9 MI (1) 170 (70)
10 MI (2) 360 (65)

DISCUSSION

It needs first to be affirmed that, although the photon rates we

observe are very small, they are many orders of magnitude greater
than that expected from black body radiation at 37°C, which is
9
approximately 1 0 ~ photons/s/cm . We were concerned next to
c o n f i r m t h a t t h e l i g h t w a s not m e r e l y a l o n g - l a s t i n g
phosphorescence stemming from previous illumination of the skin,
but was truly endogenous. This was done in studies of the decay
of phosphorescence, and the subsequent long-term luminescence.

Since skin bacteria and blood were found to make a negligible

contribution to the luminescence, this must come mainly from the
other tissues, of which the skin is likely to be the main source.
Luminescence does, however, depend on the blood supply, as
suggested by the tourniquet experiment, and also by unpublished
work showing a positive correlation between luminescence and hand
temperature. This agrees with the requirement for oxygen which
has been found by others [see 2 ] . Although no chemical studies
were done, we can suggest, from the non-exponential shape of the
phosphorescence-decay curve that a number of different molecular
species are involved.

The mainly red colour of the light agrees generally with what
others have found from mammalian tissues and cells, and have
attributed to oxidative production of radicals. It is likely,
however that the shorter wavelengths have been underestimated,
because they will be more strongly absorbed by the tissues. For
this reason a significant contribution in the ultraviolet
remains possible.

In further work, the question of coherence is paramount. To this

end, it would be necessary to refine the measurement of the
spectrum, whereupon it may be possible to probe the most active
transitions for signs of coherent coupling [9]. In addition, the
interesting variability in the intensity of human bioluminescence
over time, between different regions of the body, and between
subjects, deserves to be followed up.
94 R . E D W A R D S et al.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors are very grateful for the support of John Hine Ltd.
(Borden, Hampshire, U.K.)

REFERENCES

(1) Gurvich, A.G., and Gurvich L.D., Die Mitogenetische

Strahlung. Fischer Verlag, 1959.

(2) Slawinski, J., Luminescence Research and its Relation to

U l t r a w e a k Cell Radiation. Experientia V o l . 4 4 , 559-571,
1988.

(3) Van Wijk, R. and Schamhart, D.H.J., Regulatory aspects of

low-intensity photon emission. Experientia Vol. 44, 586-593.

(4) Fröhlich, H., The Biological Effects of Microwaves and

Related Questions. Advances in Electronics and Electron
Physics Vol. 53, 85-152, 1980.

(5) Popp, F.-Α., Li, Κ.Η., Mei, W.P., Galle, M., and
Neurohr, R., Physical Aspects of Biophotons. Experientia Vol
44, 576-585, 1988.

(6) Popp, F-A., Becker, G., Konig, L. and Peshka, W., Photon
storage in b i o l o g i c a l s y s t e m s . In Electromagnetic
B i o i n f o r m a t i o n . E d s . F-A. P o p p , et a l . . U r b a n and
Schwartzenberg, Munich, 1979.

(7) Dobrin, R., Conoway, Barbara and Pierrakos, J., Instrumental

M e a s u r e m e n t s of the Human Energy Field. Psychoenergetic
Systems Vol. 1, 1-11, 1976.

(8) Edwards, R., Ibison, M.I., Jessel-Kenyon, J. and Taylor,

R.B., Light emission from the human body. Complementary
Medical Research Vol. 3, 16-19, 1989.

(9) See for instance: Dissipative Systems in Quantum Ootics. ed.

R. Bonifacio, Springer-Verlag, 1982.