Abstract
Hydroxypropyl β-Cyclodextrin (HPBCD) used in food, pharmaceutical, chemical industries, as well as environmental, and agriculture engineering. But the major issue related to HPBCD is the low solubility profile. In this study, the influence of the Consciousness Energy Healing Treatment (the Trivedi Effect®) on the physicochemical properties of HPBCD was evaluated using spectroscopic and calorimetric analytical techniques. The test sample (HPBCD) was divided into control sample and treated sample. The control sample did not receive the Biofield Energy Treatment. Whereas, the treated sample received the Biofield Energy Treatment remotely by a renowned Biofield Energy Healer, Dahryn Trivedi. The particle size values of the treated sample were decreased by 3.28%(d10), 1.36%(d50), 0.45%(d90), and 1.04%{D(4,3)}; therefore, the specific surface area was increased by 1.9% compared with the control sample. The evaporation temperature of the treated HPBCD sample was significantly decreased by 19.89%; however, the latent heat of evaporation and latent heat of fusion were significantly increased by 56.27% and 47.41%, respectively compared with the control sample.The total weight loss in the treated HPBCD was decreased by 5.11%; whereas, the residue amount was significantly 309.67% more compared to the control sample.The results indicated that the Trivedi Effect® might have produced a new form of HPBCD which may show better thermal stability, solubility, dissolution rate, and bioavailability. This new form of HPBCD would be more useful for improvement of solubility of the lipophilic drug, preparation of cholesterol free food products, weight loss supplements, anti-obesity medication, stabilize volatile and unstable compounds, and other manufacturing industry using it as a raw material.
Author Contributions
Academic Editor: Sixing Lu, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Arizona, United States.
Checked for plagiarism: Yes
Review by: Single-blind
Copyright © 2019 Dahryn Trivedi, et al.
Competing interests
The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Citation:
Introduction
Hydroxypropyl β-cyclodextrin (HPBCD) is a 7-membered sugar ring molecule produced from starch by enzymatic conversion. HPBCD used in food, pharmaceutical, chemical industries, as well as environmental, and agriculture engineering 1. HPBCD nature is hydrophilic outside and hydrophobic inside. It can form complexes with hydrophobic (lipophilic) compounds. The unique structural features of HPBCD owe their stability to intramolecular hydrogen bonding between the hydroxyl groups of neighbouring glucopyranose units. Therefore they can improve the solubility, bioavailability and membrane permeability of such pharmaceutical/nutraceutical compounds 1, 2, 3. In the food, pharmaceutical, and nutraceutical industries, it is also employed for the preparation of cholesterol-free products, weight loss supplements, alcohol powder, aerosols, and other anti-obesity medications. Due to its surface-active properties, it can also be used as an emulsifying fibre 4, 5, 6. It can stabilize volatile or unstable compounds, reduce unwanted tastes and odour, deepen colour, improve light stability, and increase water solubility 1, 7. It is also used to produce chiral HPLC columns for the separation of chiral enantiomers, and are also the core ingredient in air freshener products which "trap" odour, thereby reduce the lousy odour 2, 8. The solubility profile of natural cyclodextrins is very poor; even the chemically modified cyclodextrin (i.e., HPBCD) can only achieve a 50% (w/v) concentration in water 2.
The Trivedi Effect®-Biofield Energy Healing Treatment has the significant impact on the physicochemical properties, i.e., crystallite size, thermal stability, particle size, surface area, solubility, and bioavailability of the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical compounds 9, 10, 11, 12. The Trivedi Effect® is a natural and only scientifically proven phenomenon in which a skilled person can harness this inherently intelligent energy from the “Universe” and transmit it anywhere on the planet through the possible mediation of neutrinos 13. Due to the continuous movement of the electrically charged particles like ions, cells, etc. inside the body a unique para-dimensional electromagnetic matrix (field) generated around the body of the living organism known as the “Biofield”. The Biofield based Energy Healing Therapies have been accepted all over the world and reported in many scientific journals with significant outcomes against various disease conditions 14, 15. National Institute of Health (NIH) and National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) recommend and included the Energy therapy under Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) category in addition to other therapies, medicines and practices such as hypnotherapy, healing touch, Qi Gong, Tai Chi, yoga, Ayurvedic medicine, chiropractic/osteopathic manipulation, massage, acupuncture, acupressure, relaxation techniques, guided imagery, Reiki, naturopathy, traditional Chinese herbs and medicines, homeopathy, aromatherapy, cranial sacral therapy, etc. The Energy Therapy has been accepted by most of the U.S.A. population 16, 17. Similarly, the Trivedi Effect®-Consciousness Energy Healing Treatment also reported with its significant outcomes in different field of sciences, i.e., material science 18, 19, organic chemistry 20, 21, biotechnology 22, 23, microbiology 24, 25, agriculture 26, 27, and medical science 28, 29. Seeing the above outstanding results, the current study was designed to evaluate the influence of the Trivedi Effect®-Consciousness Energy Healing Treatmenton HPBCD sample using PSA, PXRD, DSC, and TGA/ DTG analytical techniques.
Materials and Methods
Chemicals and Reagents
The hydroxypropyl β-cyclodextrin (HPBCD) powder was bought from Tokyo Chemical Industry Co. Ltd, Japan, and the remaining chemicals used in the experiment were of analytical grade procured from India.
Consciousness Energy Healing Treatment Strategies
The test sample HPBCD was divided into two parts. One part of the HPBCD sample was treated with the Trivedi Effect®-Consciousness Energy Healing Treatment remotely under standard laboratory conditions for 3 minutes and known as a Biofield Energy Treated HPBCD sample. The Biofield Energy Healing Treatment was provided by the renowned Biofield Energy Healer, Dahryn Trivedi, USA, to the test sample. However, the other part of the HPBCD sample did not treat with the Biofield Energy Treatment and considered as control or untreated sample. This Biofield Energy Treatment was provided through the healer’s unique energy transmission process. But, the control sample was treated with a “sham” healer for the better comparison with the results of the Biofield Energy Treated HPBCD sample. The sham healer totally ignorant about the Biofield Energy Treatment. After the treatment, the Biofield Energy Treated and untreated samples were kept in sealed conditions and characterized using spectroscopic and calorimetric analytical techniques.
Characterization
The PSA, PXRD, DSC, and TGA analysis of HPBCD were performed. The PSA was performed using Malvern Mastersizer 2000, from the UK with a detection range between 0.01 µm to 3000 µm using the wet method 30, 31. The PXRD analysis of HPBCD powder sample was performed with the help of Rigaku MiniFlex-II Desktop X-ray diffractometer (Japan) 32, 33. The average size of crystallites was calculated from PXRD data using the Scherrer’s formula (1)
G = kλ/βcosθ(1)
Where G is the crystallite size in nm, k is the equipment constant (0.94), λ is the radiation wavelength (0.154056 nm for Kα1 emission), β is the full-width at half maximum, and θ is the Bragg angle 34.
Similarly, the DSC analysis of HPBCD was performed with the help of DSC Q200, TA instruments. The TGA/DTG thermograms of HPBCD were obtained with the help of TGA Q50 TA instruments and performed under the atmospheric air condition 30, 31.
The % change in particle size, specific surface area (SSA), peak intensity, crystallite size, melting point, latent heat, weight loss and the maximum thermal degradation temperature (Tmax) of the Biofield Energy Treated sample was calculated compared with the control sample using the following equation 2:
(2)
Results and Discussion
Powder X-ray Diffraction (PXRD) Analysis
The powder XRD diffractograms of the control and Biofield Energy Treated HPBCD powder samples did not show sharp and intense peaks in the respective diffractograms (Figure 1). Therefore, it was decided that both the samples were amorphous in nature. The Biofield Energy Treatment might not have any effect on the crystallinity pattern of the HPBCD.
Figure 1. PXRD diffractograms of the control and Biofield Energy Treated HPBCD sample.
Particle Size Analysis (PSA)
The PSA analysis results of both the control and Biofield Energy Treated HPBCD powder sample are presented in Table 1. The particle size values of the control HPBCD sample at d10, d50, d90, and D(4,3) were 22.485 µm, 77.681 µm, 163.367 µm, and 86.427 µm, respectively. Likewise, the particle sizes of the Biofield Energy Treated HPBCD powder sample at d10, d50, d90, and D(4,3) were 21.748 µm, 76.621 µm, 162.632 µm, and 85.526 µm, respectively. The particle size values in the Biofield Energy Treated HPBCD powder sample was decreased by 3.28%, 1.36%, 0.45%, and 1.04% at d10,d50, d90,and D(4,3), respectively compared to the control sample (Table 1). The specific surface area of the Biofield Energy Treated HPBCD powder sample (0.161 m2/g) was increased by 1.9% compared with the control sample (0.158 m2/g). Therefore, it was assumed that the Trivedi Effect®-Consciousness Energy Healing Treatment might be acting like an external force to break down the larger HPBCD particles to the smaller one, so the surface area was increased. The size, shape, and surface area of a particle have a significant impact on the solubility, dissolution rate, absorption, bioavailability, and also the therapeutic efficacy of a pharmaceutical substance 35, 36, 37. As per the literature data, the solubility profile of HPBCD is 50% (w/v) in water 2. The particle sizes were reduced and surface area also increased in the Biofield Energy Treated HPBCD compared to the control sample. Therefore, the surface-active properties of the Biofield Energy Treated HPBCD sample would be very high. The Biofield Energy Treated HPBCD would be more useful to improve the solubility of the lipophilic drug, stabilize volatile and unstable compounds, weight loss supplements, preparation of cholesterol free food products, and other anti-obesity medication 1, 4, 5, 6, 7 and for the other industry using it as a raw material.
Table 1. Particle size distribution of the control and Biofield Energy Treated HPBCD sample.Parameter | d 10 (µm) | d 50 (µm) | d 90 (µm) | D( 4,3) (µm) | SSA (m 2 /g) |
Control | 22.485 | 77.681 | 163.367 | 86.427 | 0.158 |
Biofield Energy Treated | 21.748 | 76.621 | 162.632 | 85.526 | 0.161 |
Percent change* (%) | -3.28 | -1.36 | -0.45 | -1.04 | 1.90 |
Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) Analysis
The thermal analysis of both control and Biofield Energy Treated HPBCD samples showed two endothermic peaks in the thermograms. The control HPBCD sample showed the endothermic peaks at 118.11°C and 323.89°C (Figure 2). Similarly, the Biofield Energy Treated sample showed the endothermic peaks at 94.62°C and 325.58°C (Figure 2). The 1st endothermic peak in the thermograms was due to the evaporation of water molecule from the sample, whereas the 2nd endothermic pick was due to the melting of HPBCD sample. The experimental results were well correlated with the literature data 38. The evaporation temperature of the Biofield Energy Treated HPBCD sample was decreased by 19.89% compared with the control sample (Table 2). However, the melting temperature of the Biofield Energy Treated sample slightly increased by 0.52% compared with the control sample (Table 2). The latent heat of evaporation (∆Hevaporation) and latent heat of fusion (∆Hfusion) of the Biofield Energy Treated HPBCD sample were significantly increased by 56.27% and 47.41%, respectively compared with the control sample (Table 2). Overall, the thermal stability of the Biofield Energy Treated HPBCD sample was increased significantly compared to the control sample. Any change in the molecular chains and the crystal structure influence the latent heat of fusion 39, 40. Hence, it was assumed that Dahryn’s Biofield Energy Treatment could have improved the molecular chains strength of HPBCD which lead to the elevation of the thermal stability of the Biofield Energy Treated sample compared to the control sample.
Figure 2. DSC thermograms of the control and Biofield Energy Treated HPBCD sample.
Sample | Melting point (°C) | ∆H (J/g) | ||
1 st Peak | 2 nd Peak | Evaporation | Melting | |
Control Sample | 118.11 | 323.89 | 100.4 | 73.47 |
Biofield Energy Treated | 94.62 | 325.58 | 156.9 | 108.3 |
% Change* | -19.89 | 0.52 | 56.27 | 47.41 |
Thermal Gravimetric Analysis (TGA) / Differential Thermogravimetric Analysis (DTG)
The TGA/DTG thermograms of the control and Biofield Energy Treated HPBCD samples are presented in Figure 3 and Figure 4. Both the samples showed two steps of the degradation process in the thermograms. The total weight loss in the Biofield Energy Treated HPBCD sample (93.35%) was decreased by 5.11% compared to the control sample (98.38%). Therefore, the residue amount was 309.67% more in the Biofield Energy Treated HPBCD sample compared to the control sample (Table 3).
Figure 3. TGA thermograms of the control and Biofield Energy Treated HPBCD sample.
Sample | TGA | DTG Tmax (°C) | |
Total weight loss (%) | Residue % | ||
Control | 98.38 | 1.62 | 355.28 |
Biofield Energy Treated | 93.35 | 6.65 | 355.35 |
% Change* | -5.11 | 309.67 | 0.02 |
The DTG thermograms of the control and Biofield Energy Treated HPBCD sample exhibited one maximum thermal degradation temperature (Tmax) peak (Figure 4). The Tmax of the Biofield Energy Treated HPBCD was almost close compared with the control sample. Overall, TGA/DTG thermal analysis revealed that the thermal stability of the Biofield Energy Treated HPBCD sample was increased compared with the control sample.
Figure 4. DTG thermograms of the control and Biofield Energy Treated HPBCD sample.
Conclusions
The Trivedi Effect® (Consciousness Energy Healing Treatment) have a significant impact on the particle size, surface area, and thermal properties of HPBCD. The particle size values of the Biofield Energy Treated sample were decreased at d10, d50, d90, and D(4,3) by 3.28%, 1.36%, 0.45%, and 1.04%, respectively compared to the control sample. Therefore, the specific surface area of the Biofield Energy Treated HPBCD powder sample was increased by 1.9% compared with the control sample. The evaporation temperature of the Biofield Energy Treated HPBCD sample was decreased by 19.89% compared with the control sample. However, the ∆Hevaporation and ∆Hfusion of the Biofield Energy Treated HPBCD were significantly increased by 56.27% and 47.41%, respectively compared with the control sample.The total weight loss in the Biofield Energy Treated HPBCD was decreased by 5.11% compared with the control sample. Hence, the residue amount was 309.67% more in case of the Biofield Energy Treated HPBCD sample compared to the control sample.The results indicated that the Consciousness Energy Healing Treatment might produce a new form of HPBCD which may show better solubility, dissolution rate, absorption, bioavailability, and thermal stability. The new form of HPBCD would be more useful for the improvement of solubility of the lipophilic drug, stabilize volatile and unstable compounds, weight loss supplements, preparation of cholesterol free food products, anti-obesity medication and other manufacturing industry using it as a raw material.
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to Central Leather Research Institute, SIPRA Lab. Ltd., Trivedi Science, Trivedi Global, Inc., Trivedi Testimonials, and Trivedi Master Wellness for their assistance and support during this work.