How Ancient Bacteria May Hold Secrets to Hydrogen Therapy Benefits
Clinical Applications of Electrolyzed-Reduced Water
Research hubs: Oxidative Stress
- Evidence type
- Review or commentary
- Authors
- Hidemitsu Hayashi, Munenori Kawamura
- Journal
- Animal Cell Technology: Basic & Applied Aspects
- Year
- 2002
- Study Type
- clinical
- Delivery
- drinking
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Cited by
- 3 (OpenAlex, as of November 2026)
- Country
- Japan
TL;DR
Scientists think that super old life forms discovered how to use hydrogen to protect themselves from damage, and this study suggests that special water treated with electricity might help our bodies do the same thing today—but we need more real experiments to prove it actually works.
Summary
This research explores the evolutionary origins of hydrogen processing in living organisms. Scientists studied how ancient bacteria called Desulfoviorio gigas developed hydrogenase enzymes 3.8 billion years ago to split molecular hydrogen into atomic hydrogen. The authors suggest this ancient biological mechanism for hydrogen activation may explain why modern hydrogen therapies, particularly electrolyzed-reduced water, could provide health benefits. The study proposes that understanding this evolutionary foundation could inform clinical applications of hydrogen-based treatments. However, the research lacks detailed experimental methods and quantifiable results, limiting definitive conclusions about therapeutic efficacy.
Abstract (excerpt)
A very important and interesting paper was submitted by Happe in January ‘97 (1). He says, the oldest life forms ‘Desulfoviorio gigas’ 3.8 billion years old, had developed an enzyme ‘hydrogenase’, to activate hydrogen,namely to split molecular hydrogen to atomic hydrogen. Here,the question…