In the search for providing practical information to our readers and friends of Project.HOPE, particularly on the value of certain parameters or research variables, in scientific disciplines such as pharmacology, hence, in this thematic segment I will address content related to the importance of pH in the pharmacological sector.

Based on the postulates, formulated by the Danish chemist Søren Peter Lauritz Sørensen in 1990, the pH is used as an indicator of acidity, neutrality or alkalinity, by weighting the concentration of hydrogen ions (H+) that a solution possesses, therefore, and considering the importance of chemical reactions, whether acidic, neutral and alkaline, in the metabolic processes that occur in our body, it is assumed that the pH has practical applications in medicine and pharmacology.

However, with respect to the practical utility that has the pH as a variable of pharmacological research, it is necessary to indicate that the drugs after being administered must be absorbed, distributed and cross the cell membranes in the various organs, through active and passive transport mechanisms, reactions that are mediated essentially by the acid or alkaline concentrations of the environment, so that the value of pH of the drugs determines in part the mobility of these to the cellular receptors.

The physiological health of the people, depends on the balance between acids and bases, mainly because, in most of the metabolic reactions participate enzymes that act according to the value of the pH, for example; when an imbalance of pH exists in our organism where it is manifesting excesses of acids, is common the appearance of multiple physiological disorders of chronic character.

Among chronic disorders, the main manifestations of excess acid are hair loss, calcification of blood vessels, generalised fatigue due to energy imbalance, lack of control of the immune system, deterioration of muscle mass, loss of bone mass, and skin problems, among others. For this reason, doctors resort to specific treatments, using drugs with alkaline chemical properties and composition, with the aim of favouring the biochemical and physiological action of the drug product, and at the same time neutralising the metabolic alterations or imbalances suffered by the body.

[1] Vasudevan D., Sreekumari S., and Vaidyanathan K. Acid-Base Balance and pH. Biochemistry for Medical Students. 2017; 395-409. Article: Online access

[2] Higgins C. An introduction to acid-base balance in health and disease. 2014. Article: Online access

[3] Nottingham A., Whitaker J., Turner B., Salinas N., Zimmermann M., Malhi Y., and Meir P. Pathophysiology of acid base balance: The theory practice relationship. Intensive and Critical Care Nursing. 2008; 24: 28—40. Article: Online access