Hydrogen Water Protects Heart Health in Obese Mice Study
- Authors
- Haruchika Masuda, Atsuko Sato, Kumiko Miyata, Tomoko Shizuno, Akira Oyamada, Kazuo Ishiwata, Yoshihiro Nakagawa, Takayuki Asahara
- Journal
- Biology
- Year
- 2021
- DOI
- 10.3390/biology10050364
- Study Type
- Mouse
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- Japan
- Health Condition
- Obesity
- Body System
- Cardiovascular
TL;DR
Drinking water with added molecular hydrogen can protect the heart in mice that are obese due to a high-fat diet.
Key Finding
Molecular hydrogen water reduced heart enlargement and improved heart function in obese mice, even without affecting body weight or blood sugar levels.
Summary
Researchers gave obese mice drinking water infused with molecular hydrogen (a gas with antioxidant properties) for 2 weeks and compared them to mice drinking regular water. The hydrogen water did not reduce body weight or blood sugar, but it did shrink enlarged hearts, improve heart function, and promote beneficial changes in fat tissue and blood vessel cells in the obese mice.
Practical Takeaway
This is early-stage research in mice only, so results cannot yet be applied to humans. The findings suggest molecular hydrogen water may have heart-protective effects in obesity-related conditions, but human studies would be needed to determine if these benefits translate to people.
Abstract
Molecular hydrogen (MH) reportedly exerts therapeutic effects against inflammatory diseases as a suppressor of free radical chain reactions. Here, the cardiovascular protective effects of the intake of molecular hydrogen water (MHW) were investigated using high-fat diet-induced obesity (DIO) mice. MHW was prepared using supplier sticks and degassed water as control. MHW intake for 2 weeks did not improve blood sugar or body weight but decreased heart weight in DIO mice. Moreover, MHW intake improved cardiac hypertrophy, shortened the width of cardiomyocytes, dilated the capillaries and arterioles, activated myocardial eNOS-Ser-1177 phosphorylation, and restored left ventricular function in DIO mice. MHW intake promoted the histological conversion of hypertrophy to hyperplasia in white and brown adipose tissues (WAT and BAT) with the upregulation of thermogenic and cardiovascular protective genes in BAT (i.e., Ucp-1, Vegf-a, and eNos). Furthermore, the results of a colony formation assay of bone-marrow-derived endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) indicated that MHW activated the expansion, differentiation, and mobilization of EPCs to maintain vascular homeostasis. These findings indicate that the intake of MHW exerts cardiovascular protective effects in DIO mice. Hence, drinking MHW is a potential prophylactic strategy against cardiovascular disorders in metabolic syndrome.