Eduard van Wijk

• Leiden University

Ripening is an irreversible phenomenon involving several physiological, biochemical and organoleptic changes that affect the nutritional value, colour, texture and taste of fruit. Amongst the physical non-destructive technologies, Delayed Luminescence (DL) has been reported able to provide valid information on the functional status of living biolog...

Ultraweak photon emission (UPE) from a human body has been demonstrated but it is not exactly known where this light comes from. Neither studies evaluating UV-induced UPE from the epidermis and dermis nor oxygen replacement studies elucidate the mechanism of spontaneous UPE. A new approach is presented focusing on a comparison of high-UPE and low-U...

Once considered exclusively as the cell’s energy producers, mitochondria are now recognized to perform multiple essential functions beyond energy production. Since the discovery of pathogenic mitochondrial DNA defects in the 1980s, research advances have revealed an increasing number of common human diseases which share an underlying pathogenesis i...

The purpose of this chapter is to bring together pertinent aspects of ultraweak photon emission research, questioning the substance/field dualism in the complexity of specific systems. Such may contribute to some of the most important (but almost forgotten) issues in the field of biology and medicine. We must try to understand what the science of b...

The food industry places significant emphasis on ensuring quality and traceability as key components of a healthy diet. To cater to consumer demands, researchers have prioritized the development of analytical techniques that can rapidly and non-invasively provide data on quality parameters. In this study, we propose to use the Delayed Luminescence...

Oxidative processes in all types of organisms cause the chemical formation of electronically excited species, with subsequent ultra-weak photon emission termed biological auto(chemi)luminescence (BAL). Imaging of this luminescence phenomenon using ultra-sensitive devices could potentially enable monitoring of oxidative stress in optically accessibl...

Oxidative processes present across all types of organisms cause the chemical formation of electronically excited species with subsequent ultra-weak photon emission termed biological autoluminescence. Thus, imaging of this luminescence phenomenon using ultra-sensitive devices potentially enables monitoring of oxidative stress in optically accessible...

Background: Investigation of aged Chinese herbal materials will help us to understand their use and sources in ancient time and broaden the historical perspective of Chinese material medica. To reach this aim, the basic under- standing of aged herbal materials, including physical and chemical characters, is of great importance. Delayed lumi- nescen...

Background: To promote herbal medicine depends largely on its quality. Chromatographic fingerprint is a frequent approach for quality assessment of herbs however with challenges on robust and reproducibility. To develop rapid, cheap and comprehensive measurements as complementary tools for herbal quality control are still urgently needed. Moreover...

At least since March 2020, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic and the multi-organ coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are keeping a firm grip on the world. Although most cases are mild, older patients and those with co-morbidities are at increased risk of developing a cytokine storm, characterized by a sy...

At least since March 2020, the multiorgan disease COVID-19 has a firm grip on the world. Although most of the cases are mild, patients from risk populations could develop a cytokine storm, which is characterized by a systemic inflammatory response leading to acute respiratory distress syndrome and organ failure. The present paper will introduce the...

Once regarded solely as the energy source of the cell, nowadays mitochondria are recognized to perform multiple essential functions in addition to energy production. Since the discovery of pathogenic mitochondrial DNA defects in the 1980s, research advances have revealed an increasing number of common human diseases, which share an underlying patho...

Background: Herbal materials are widely used as medicinal products, dietary supplements, food, and spices. With increased consumption, the safety, quality, and efficacy of herbal materials are becoming more relevant. The authenticity of herbal materials plays an important role in herbal quality control, and there is an urgent need to develop a sim...

The gap between Western medicine and traditional Chinese medicine (CM) is closely related to the diversity in culture, philosophy, and scientific developments. Although numerous studies have evaluated the efficacy of acupuncture, the gap in explanatory disease models has not been bridged so far. Developments in research of ultraweak photon emission...

The prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is increasing rapidly worldwide. Because of the limited success of generic interventions, the focus of the disease study has shifted toward personalized strategies, particularly in the early stages of the disease. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is based on a systems view combined with personaliz...

Ginsenoside extracts are often used as raw material for various pharmaceutical, cosmetically and food supplement products. Development of a direct, rapid, cheap and comprehensive measurement tools for quality assessment of ginsenoside extracts are urgently needed, and this is also a challenge for all herbal extracts. In addition, bioactivity based...

Background Based on the principle of tradition Chinese medicine, the processing refers to various techniques that alter the overall properties of herbal materials to meet the requirements of therapeutic applications. However, the standards of quality control and scientific standard operation protocol for processing manufacturing are largely unknown...

Inflammatory autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), multiple sclerosis (MS), and psoriasis are a major health burden. A dysregulated redox system with excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is thought to play a central role in disease progression as these oxygen species facilitate the production of proinflammatory cyt...

In recent years, excessive oxidative metabolism has been reported as a critical determinant of pathogenicity in many diseases. The advent of a simple tool that can provide a physiological readout of oxidative stress would be a major step towards monitoring this dynamic process in biological systems, while also improving our understanding of this pr...

In this study, we investigated the spectral characteristics of Spontaneous Photon Emission (SPE) from the body surface of a human breast cancer-bearing nude mice model during the overall growth process of breast cancers. By comparing and analyzing the data, we found that there was a striking difference between tumor mice and healthy controls in the...

Recently, ultra-weak photon emission (UPE) was developed as a novel tool for measuring oxidative metabolic processes, as its generation is related to reactive oxygen species (ROS). Both an imbalance in ROS or the uncontrolled production of ROS can lead to oxidative stress, which is commonly associated with many diseases. In addition to playing seve...

Oxidative processes present across all types of organisms, including humans, cause chemical formation of electron excited species with subsequent endogenous ultra-weak photon emission. Thus, imaging of this endogenous chemiluminescence using ultra-sensitive devices potentially enables label-free monitoring of oxidative stress in optically accessibl...

Background Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a complex, chronic autoimmune disease characterized by various inflammatory symptoms, including joint swelling, joint pain, and both structural and functional joint damage. The most commonly used animal model for studying RA is mice with collagen‐induced arthritis (CIA); the wide use of this model is due prim...

The increasing prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis has driven the development of new approaches and technologies for investigating the pathophysiology of this devastating, chronic disease. From the perspective of systems biology, combining comprehensive personal data such as metabolomics profiling with ultra-weak photon emission (UPE) data may provi...

Ultraweak photon emission emitted by all living organisms has been confirmed to be a noninvasive indicator for their physiological and pathological characteristics. In this study, we investigated the characteristics of spontaneous photon emission (SPE) and the contents of specific active compounds of roots and flowers buds of several fresh Chinese...

In order to corroborate the hypothesis that variations in the rate of spontaneous ultra-weak photon emission (UPE) from germinating seedlings are related to local variations of the lunisolar tidal force, a series of simultaneous tests was performed using the time courses of UPE collected from three plant species-corn, wheat and sunflower-and also f...

Ultra-weak photon emission (UPE) is light emitted spontaneously by biological systems without the use of specific luminescent complexes. UPE is emitted in the near-UV/UV-Vis/near-IR spectra during oxidative metabolic reactions; however, the specific pathways involved in UPE remain poorly understood. Here, we used HL-60 cells, a human promyelocytic...

Aging has been one of the several topics intensely investigated during recent decades. More scientists have been scrutinizing mechanisms behind the human aging process. Ultra-weak photon emission is known as one type of spontaneous photon emission that can be detected with a highly sensitive single photon counting photomultiplier tube (PMT) from th...

Ultra-weak photon emission (UPE) is light emitted spontaneously by biological systems without the use of specific luminescent complexes. UPE is emitted in the near-UV/UV–Vis/near-IR spectra during oxidative metabolic reactions; however, the specific pathways involved in UPE remain poorly understood. Here, we used HL-60 cells, a human promyelocytic...

Aging has been one of the several topics intensely investigated during recent decades. More scientists have been scrutinizing mechanisms behind the human aging process. Ultra-weak photon emission is known as one type of spontaneous photon emission that can be detected with a highly sensitive single photon counting photomultiplier tube (PMT) from th...

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) plays a critical role in healthcare; however, it lacks scientific evidence to support the multidimensional therapeutic effects. These effects are based on experience, and, to date, there is no advanced tool to evaluate these experience based effects. In the current study, Chinese herbal materials classified with d...

In Chinese medicine, raw herbal materials are used in processed and unprocessed forms aiming to meet the different requirements of clinical practice. To assure the chemical quality and therapeutic properties of the herbs, fast and integrated systematic assays are required. So far, such assays have not been established. Delayed luminescence (DL) ref...

Oxylipins play important roles in various biological processes and are considered as mediators of inflammation for a wide range of diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The purpose of this research was to study differences in oxylipin levels between a widely used collagen induced arthritis (CIA) mice model and healthy control (Ctrl) mice. DBA...

The supplementary material provides the methodology of oxylipin extraction and detection and reports performance characteristics of this method. Detailed results from supervised. PLS-DA analysis and VIP scores are also provided in order to demonstrate the important contributions of significant oxylipins to the group clusters.

Traditional Chinese material medica are an important component of the Chinese pharmacopeia. According to the traditional Chinese medicinal concept, Chinese herbal medicines are classified into different categories based on their therapeutic effects, however, the bioactive principles cannot be solely explained by chemical analysis. The aim of this s...

In the practice and principle of Chinese medicine, herbal materials are classified according to their therapeutic properties. 'Cold' and 'heat' are the most important classes of Chinese medicinal herbs according to the theory of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). In this work, delayed luminescence (DL) was measured for different samples of Chinese...

Spirituality is an experience that, in large part, comes from within. It is an attitude wherein one intuits the self as being a tiny part of a much bigger whole. Transcendental meditation (TM) helps individuals to deal better with stress as proven by a variety of biologic markers. The physiologic biomarkers, reactive oxygen species production (ROS)...

We conducted a systematic review (SR) of the peer reviewed scientific literature on ultraweak photon emissions (UPE) from humans. The question was: Can ultraweak photon emissions from humans be used as a non-invasive health assessment? A systematic search was conducted across eight relevant databases: PubMed/MEDLINE, BIOSIS, CINAHL, PSYCHINFO, All...

Ultra-weak photon emission (UPE) of a living system received scientific attention because of its potential for monitoring increased levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In this study, a highly sensitive cryogenic charge-coupled device (CCD) camera was used to monitor in a RA mouse model the photo...

For decades, the relationship between ultra-weak photon emission (UPE) and the health state of the body is being studied. With the advent of systems biology, attention shifted from the association between UPE and reactive oxygen species towards UPE as a reflection of changed metabolic networks. Essential for this shift in thinking is the developmen...

Sixty visible range photon signals spontaneously emitted from the dorsal side of both hands of fifteen human subjects are analyzed with the aim of finding their attributes. The signals are of 30min duration and detected in bins of 50ms by two synchronized photo multipliers sensitive in the range (290-630nm). Each signal is a time series of 36,000 e...

Imaging of spatial distributions of ultra-weak spontaneous photon emission (UPE) in living systems started in the mid 1980’s in Japan. This chapter begins with a historic overview on the progression in sensitivity of the imaging technology allowing not only plants but also animal and human body parts to be imaged. Imaging was initially performed in...

For decades, the relationship between ultra-weak photon emission (UPE) and the health state of the body is being studied. With the advent of systems biology, attention shifted from the association between UPE and reactive oxygen species towards UPE as a reflection of changed metabolic networks. Essential for this shift in thinking is the developmen...

For decades, the relationship between ultra-weak photon emission (UPE) and the health state of the body is being studied. With the advent of systems biology, attention shifted from the association between UPE and reactive oxygen species towards UPE as a reflection of changed metabolic networks. Essential for this shift in thinking is the developmen...

The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview regarding scientific developments in biological ultra-weak photon emission (UPE) in order to connect with the concept of systems biology. The scientific data, internationally, about such emission from cells, tissues or even entire living systems began approximately 50 years ago recording with mo...

The aim of this study was to extend previous investigations on the property of artificially prepared collagen gels to modify ultraweak photon emission emanating from a biological source. The interaction of collagen gels with enzyme-dependent ultra weak photon emission facilitated by the Xanthine oxidase–Xanthine–MCLA (XO–X–MCLA) enzyme system was s...

In the present experiment ultra-weak photon emission/ chemiluminescence from isolated neutrophils was recorded. It is associated with the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the "respiratory burst" process which can be activated by PMA (Phorbol 12-Myristate 13-Acetate). Commonly, the reaction is demonstrated utilizing the enhancer lumino...

The relationship between connective tissue and meridian function is discussed in terms of energy transmission. The network of hydrogen-bonded water molecules interspersed within the collagen fibrillar matrix is especially significant for both the sensitivity of connective tissue to weak signals of mechanical pressure, heat, or electricity and the e...

Two experiments with rats examined competition between simultaneous and serial features for behavioural control in an appetitive discrimination. In Experiment 1, an auditory target was reinforced when presented in isolation. For different groups, the target was non-reinforced when simultaneously accompanied by a visual feature (first group), when p...

Photon signals emitted spontaneously from dorsal and palm sides of both hands were recorded using 6000 time windows of size T=50 ms in 50 healthy human subjects. These photon signals demonstrated universal behaviour by variance and mean. The data sets for larger time windows up to T=50s were obtained by merging the data recorded with T=50 ms. The b...

Exposure of skin to ultraviolet (UV) radiation triggers oxidative stress in skin tissue that can lead to erythema, early skin aging or even cancer. It is suggested that oligomeric proanthocyanidins (OPCs), phytonutrients that belong to the polyphenol family have an anti-oxidant/anti-inflammatory activity on the skin. Measuring ultra-weak photon emi...

Low-intensity light therapy (LILT) is showing promise in the treatment of a wide variety of medical conditions. Concurrently, our knowledge of LILT mechanisms continues to expand. We are now aware of LILT's potential to induce cellular effects through, for example, accelerated ATP production and the mitigation of oxidative stress. In clinical use,...

In the present study, the effect of plant adaptogens (Rhodiola rosea and ADAPT-232) on human photon emission has been determined. In a randomized double blind placebo-controlled study, 30 subjects were randomly assigned to three groups: one group (n = 10) taking placebo pills, one group (n = 10) taking Rhodiola rosea (SHR-5) pills and one group (n...

"Ultra-weak photon emission" (UPE) recording is a technique that registers, noninvasively and on-line, reactive oxygen species (ROS) fluctuations. The objective of the present study was to perform simultaneous recordings in human subjects of UPE and EEG and to study a possible correlation between UPE and EEG fluctuations. Thirty-six EEG recordings...

Convincing evidence supports a role for oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of many chronic diseases. The model includes the formation of radical oxygen species (ROS) and the misassembly and aggregation of proteins when three tiers of cellular defence are insufficient: (a) direct antioxidative systems, (b) molecular damage repairing systems, and (...

Research on human ultra-weak photon emission (UPE) has suggested a typical human emission anatomic percentage distribution pattern. It was demonstrated that emission intensities are lower in long-term practitioners of meditation as compared to control subjects. The percent contribution of emission from different anatomic locations was not significa...

Evidence has accumulated favoring the possible role of oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of many chronic diseases. Meditation is utilized as an adjunct to conventional medical treatment for several clinical conditions. A few studies suggest a role of long-term meditation in the control of the free-radical metabolism. Many techniques for recordin...

Ultra weak photon emission (UPE) in visible spectral region from human hands was measured by low-noise photomultiplier system situated in light-tight darkroom. Dominant hands of three subjects were measured for baseline value of photon emission and skin surface temperature before, during and after the cooling of palms by ice cube. Example temperatu...

Ultra-weak spontaneous photon emission in visible range from palms and hands of dark-accommodated subjects has been measured every two hours in 5 experiments in the course of 24 hours by means of low-noise photomultiplier. Measured data have been analyzed for mean photon emission of different anatomical locations in individual experiments and maxim...

The present paper recorded spontaneous ultra weak photon emission of five subjects at palm and dorsal sides of both left and right hands in a 24 h period. Data demonstrate that intensity as well as left-right symmetry varies diurnally. Emission intensity is low during the day, rises during the evening and is high during the night. Time patterns for...

Ultra-weak photon emission in the visible range was measured on palm and dorsal side of left and right hand by means of a low noise photomultiplier system. To study the dynamics of this photon emission in a 24 h period photon emission was recorded in 2 h intervals in 5 experiments, utilizing strict protocols for dark adaptation and recording of sub...

Spontaneous ultra-weak photon emission in the visible range was measured on palm and dorsal side of left and right hand by means of a low noise photomultiplier system. To study the dynamics of this photon emission in a 24 h period photon emission was recorded in 2 h intervals in 5 experiments, utilizing strict protocols for dark adaptation and reco...

Low levels of light have been reported to change human physiologic activities. In our research we focused at an extreme situation and utilized human's own ultra-weak light for radiation. Human photon emission was studied after dark-adaptation utilizing a sensitive, cooled, moveable photomultiplier system. Data showed that palm and dorsum of the han...

This study explored the integral intensity, slopes, and dynamics of the spectral gels, dried collagen samples, and collagen fibrils extirpated from rat tails after UV emitted from dry collagen samples are more exponential, whereas water-

During the past 20 years, the connective tissue has been recognized as an integral component of the Chinese acupuncture meridian system. This has offered an interesting correspondence between the classical Chinese theory and a 200 year-old European theory on connective tissue as basic bioregulatory system. We review supporting evidence from biochem...

Spontaneous ultra-weak photon emission in the visible range was measured on palm and dorsal side of left and right hand by means of a low noise photomultiplier system. To study the dynamics of this photon emission in a 24 h period photon emission was recorded in 2 h intervals in 5 experiments, utilizing strict protocols for dark adaptation and reco...

The human body emits ultraweak photons. It has been demonstrated that feedback regulation of ultraweak photon emission from the hand is detectable utilizing gelatin color filters in complete darkness. Color filters are commonly utilized in auriculomedicine diagnostic procedures based on the radial artery vascular autonomic signal. To evaluate the p...

In the 60's ultraweak photon emission from specific isolated tissues and organs was reported. The studies included contracting heart isolated from the thorax,' electrically stimulated nerves,^ and muscles.'"'' Presently, it is generally accepted that all living organisms emit ultra-weak light that can be recorded at tissue, cellular, and sub-cellul...

Spontaneous photon emission from 30 sites on the skin of a live human subject is measured at different times and on different days. Signals from three representative sites of low, intermediate and high intensities are selected for further analysis. Fluctuations in these signals are measured by the probabilities of detecting different numbers of pho...

Thermoluminescence of homeopathically prepared ultra-high dilutions of lithium chloride in deuterium oxide (D2O) (10 (-30) g cm (-3); C15 LiCl in D2O) and similarly prepared D2O (C15 D2O) was compared in three experiments varying (1) time between preparation of substance and time of experimentation, and (2) time between irradiation and thermolumine...

Ultra-weak photon emission of a living system has received scientific attention because of its potential for monitoring oxidative metabolism and oxidative damage to tissues. Heretofore, most studies have focused only on the emission from hands. The data regarding emission from other anatomic locations are limited. A previous multi-anatomic site rec...

Research on human ultra-weak photon emission (UPE, biophoton emission) has raised the question whether a typical human emission anatomic percentage distribution pattern exists in addition to individual subject overall anatomic summation intensity differences. The lowest UPE intensities were observed in two subjects who regularly meditate. Spectral...

Biophoton emission is the spontaneous emission of ultraweak light emanating from all living systems, including man. The emission is linked to the endogenous production of excited states within the living system. The detection and characterisation of human biophoton emission has led to suggestions that it has potential future applications in medicin...

In the past years, research on ultraweak photon emission (UPE) from human body has increased for isolated cells and tissues. However, there are only limited data on UPE from the whole body, in particular from the hands. To describe a protocol for the management of subjects that (1) avoids interference with light-induced longterm delayed luminescenc...

Color filters are commonly utilized in auriculotherapy and auriculomedicine, diagnostic procedures based on the vascular autonomic signal (VAS) of the radial artery. It was reported that such effects were detectable in complete darkness. The human body emits ultraweak photons. It is hypothesized that there is feedback regulation of emission from th...

Various physiologic and biochemical shifts can follow meditation. Meditation has been implicated in impacting free radical activity. Ultraweak photon emission (UPE, biophoton emission) is a constituent of the metabolic processes in a living system. Spectral analysis showed the characteristics of radical reactions. Recording and analysing photon emi...

Ultraweak photon emission of dark-incubated A. acetabulum cells were measured with the use of a sensitive electronphotomultiplier of the Hamamatsu 550 type. The photon count series were subjected to Fourier analysis for 2-1020 sec period range. The average level of photon emission in samples containing 50 cells was approximately. 40% above backgrou...

Intentional healing by laying on of hands is a popular complementary therapy. Previous studies of this therapy have been focused on the influence of laying on of hands with focused intention on the patient or on a biological model that took the place of the patient. Exploring the line of thinking that the consciousness-mediated act of healing durin...

Two experiments with rats examined behavioural control by feature stimuli in appetitive conditioning using latency of food-magazine visits as the dependent measure. In experiment 1, a feature-positive (FP) discrimination was presented in which a target stimulus was consistently followed by food when preceded by a serial feature and accompanied by a...