Abstract
Catalytic activity of plasma was studied to analyse the biological effects of thermal bath, especially in mineral waters showing more or less marked catalytic action themselves.
An increase of from 19 to 67 percent plasma catalase activity was proved after a full immersion bath at 42°C for 10min., and each spring water: Ikaho (iron containing calcium sulphate spring)-, Kusazu (acid alum vitriol spring)-, Nozawa (simple sulphur spring)-, Atami (weak common salt spring)-, Ttoh (simple thermal)-Springs showed its own characteristic effect.
Namely, Kusazu Spring bath showed the highest increase and the effect of lkaho proved more prolonged.
Other springs, such as Nozawa, Atami and Itch, showed rather slighter increase with shorter duration similar to the effect of plain water bath.
These increases in the plasma catalase activity by a single bath decreased remarkably after a series of thermal baths for ten days and no definite relation was proved to exist between the catalytic action of the bath waters and their effect to increase the plasma catalase activity in the bathed persons or animals.
Then, these effects were examined in the rabbits with stimulated or impaired reticuloendotheliar function.
Blocking of reticuloendotheliar system (R. E. S.) inhibited the increases in the plasma catalase activity by the thermal bath, though the activity levels before each bath were not affected.
Stimulation of R. R. S. showed no influence on the effects of bathing.
Probably this difference might he accounted for an unknown activating factor of plasmaa cataIase mobilized from the R. E. S. into the blood stream by thermal bath, and/or for increased liberation of catalase from the tissues.
An attempt to find any factor in plasma, promoting catalase activity, failed to prove in vitro, but survival time of P32-labelled blood corpuscles was markedly shortend by a series of thermal baths.
Conclusion was drawn from these findings that increased destruction of blood cells plays an important role in the manifestation of the effect of thermal bath on plasma catalase activity.
