Hydrogen Water Protects Stomach from Aspirin Damage in New Study
- Authors
- Jinling Xue, Guodong Shang, Yoshinori Tanaka, Yasuhiro Saihara, Lingyan Hou, Natalia Velasquez, Wenjun Liu, Yun Lu
- Journal
- BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine
- Year
- 2014
- DOI
- 10.1186/1472-6882-14-81
- Study Type
- Rat
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- China
- Health Condition
- Gastric Injury
- Body System
- Digestive System
TL;DR
Drinking hydrogen-rich water can reduce stomach damage caused by aspirin, and the more hydrogen in the water, the better the protective effect.
Key Finding
Hydrogen-rich alkaline water showed a dose-dependent protective effect against aspirin-induced stomach injury in rats, with optimal protection observed at hydrogen concentrations of 0.07–0.84 ppm at pH 8.5.
Summary
Researchers gave rats with aspirin-induced stomach damage hydrogen-rich alkaline water to drink for 2 weeks and measured the extent of stomach injury and markers of oxidative stress (cellular damage). They found that higher concentrations of hydrogen in the water provided greater protection against stomach damage, with the best results at hydrogen levels between 0.07 and 0.84 parts per million at a pH of 8.5. The protective effect appeared to work through antioxidant mechanisms (reducing harmful reactive molecules in cells).
Practical Takeaway
This rat study suggests that hydrogen-enriched water may help protect the stomach from aspirin-related damage, and that there may be an optimal hydrogen concentration for this effect. However, this is early animal research; human studies would be needed to determine whether these findings apply to people, and whether hydrogen water could actually prevent aspirin-related stomach problems in real-world use.
Abstract
Abstract Background Hydrogen has been reported to relieve damage in many disease models, and is a potential additive in drinking water to provide protective effects for patients as several clinical studies revealed. However, the absence of a dose–response relationship in the application of hydrogen is puzzling. We attempted to identify the dose–response relationship of hydrogen in alkaline electrolyzed drinking water through the aspirin induced gastric injury model. Methods In this study, hydrogen-rich alkaline water was obtained by adding H2 to electrolyzed water at one atmosphere pressure. After 2 weeks of drinking, we detected the gastric mucosal damage together with MPO, MDA and 8-OHdG in rat aspirin induced gastric injury model. Results Hydrogen-dose dependent inhibition was observed in stomach mucosal. Under pH 8.5, 0.07, 0.22 and 0.84 ppm hydrogen exhibited a high correlation with inhibitory effects showed by erosion area, MPO activity and MDA content in the stomach. Gastric histology also demonstrated the inhibition of damage by hydrogen-rich alkaline water. However, 8-OHdG level in serum did not have significant hydrogen-dose dependent effect. pH 9.5 showed higher but not significant inhibitory response compared with pH 8.5. Conclusions Hydrogen is effective in relieving the gastric injury induced by aspirin-HCl, and the inhibitory effect is dose-dependent. The reason behind this may be that hydrogen-rich water directly interacted with the target tissue, while the hydrogen concentration in blood was buffered by liver glycogen, evoking a suppressed dose–response effect. Drinking hydrogen-rich water may protect healthy individuals from gastric damage caused by oxidative stress.