Hydrogen Water & Bird's Nest Combo Heals Gum Wounds Faster
- Authors
- Dongliang Wang, Naohiro Shimamura, Nobuhiko Miwa, Li Xiao
- Journal
- Human Cell
- Year
- 2024
- DOI
- 10.1007/s13577-024-01065-y
- Study Type
- Cell Culture
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- China
- Health Condition
- Periodontal Disease
- Body System
- Oral
TL;DR
A study found that hydrogen-rich water and a substance derived from bird's nests can help improve the healing of gum wounds that are slowed down by inflammation and oxidative stress.
Key Finding
Combined hydrogen-rich water and enzyme-digested bird's nest significantly reduced inflammatory responses and improved wound healing in laboratory gingival tissue models exposed to inflammatory stimuli.
Summary
Researchers created artificial gingival (gum) tissue in the lab to test whether hydrogen-rich water and a processed bird's nest extract could help wounds heal better when exposed to inflammatory chemicals. They found that both treatments, especially when combined, reduced inflammation markers and helped restore the tissue's protective layer that was damaged by the inflammatory exposure.
Practical Takeaway
This is early laboratory research using artificial tissue models, not human studies, so it cannot yet demonstrate that hydrogen water would have these effects in actual gum tissue. While the results are promising, much more research—including human clinical trials—would be needed before drawing any conclusions about using hydrogen water for oral health or wound healing.
Abstract
Gingival wound healing plays a critical role in maintaining oral health. However, this process can be delayed by oxidative stress and excessive inflammatory responses. In this study, we established a human inflammatory gingival tissue equivalent (iGTE) to investigate the inhibitory effects of hydrogen-rich water (HW), enzyme-digested edible bird's nest (EBND) and sialic acid (SA) on PMA (an inducer of oxidative free radicals)- and LPS (an inflammatory stimulus)-impaired wound healing. The iGTE was constructed by human gingival fibroblasts (hGFs), keratinocytes and macrophages under three-dimensional conditions. Wounds in the iGTE and hGF/keratinocyte monolayers were created by mechanical injury. Tissues and cells were pretreated with HW, EBND, and SA, and then exposed to the inflammatory and oxidative environment induced by PMA (10 ng/mL) and LPS (250 ng/mL). The inflammatory cytokines IL-6 and IL-8 were quantitatively analyzed by ELISA. Histopathological image analysis was performed by HE and immunofluorescence staining. In the iGTE, PMA/LPS significantly reduced the epithelial thickness while causing a decrease in K8/18, E-cadherin, laminin and elastin expression and an increase in COX-2 expression along with ulcer-like lesions. In mechanically scratched hGFs and keratinocyte monolayers, PMA/LPS significantly impaired wound healing, and promoted the secretion of IL-6 and IL-8. Pretreatment of HW, EBND, and SA significantly suppressed PMA/LPS-induced wound healing delay and inflammatory responses in cell monolayers, as well as in the iGTE. Remarkably, the combined use of HW and EBND exhibited particularly robust results. Combined use of HW and EBND may be applied for the prevention and treatment of wound healing delay.