CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CHEMILUMINESCENCE FROM THE BLOOD-PLASMA OF A NORMAL HUMAN-POPULATION

Oxygen-dependent chemiluminescence was detected from human blood plasma. The intensity of the chemiluminescence increased about three-fold under oxygenation and decreased almost to the background (zero) level under a nitrogen atmosphere. The blood plasma from a sample (n = 100) of donors was tested to determine the variability of several properties of the chemiluminescence in a normal population. No statistically significant difference in blood plasma chemiluminescence between genders was found, but there was a slight increase in luminescence intensity with age. However, the results were found to be dependent on a number of other factors, such as diet, smoking and the length of time between the donor's last meal and the sampling of the blood. Some of the trends in the results coincide with similar trends in the plasma lipoprotein levels and thus support the suggestion that the chemiluminescence arises from the decomposition of lipid hydroperoxides. These factors must all, therefore, be taken into account when using chemiluminescence as an indicator of illness.