Hydrogen Water + Tea Extract Protects Gut Health During Heat Stress
- Authors
- Yao Zang, Beibei Zhang, Guosheng Zhang, Jie Hu, Dengqun Shu, Jiahong Han, Mengzhen Hu, Mingming Tu, Wenduo Qiao, Renxin Liu, Yitian Zang
- Journal
- Journal of Thermal Biology
- Year
- 2024
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.jtherbio.2024.103921
- Study Type
- Mouse
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- China
- Health Condition
- Heat Stress
- Body System
- Digestive
TL;DR
A mix of tea polyphenols and hydrogen-rich water is more effective at reducing heat stress damage in mice than either treatment alone.
Key Finding
Combined treatment with hydrogen-rich water and tea polyphenols was significantly more effective at reducing heat stress damage and restoring healthy gut bacteria than either treatment used alone in mice.
Summary
Researchers tested whether combining hydrogen-rich water and tea polyphenols (plant compounds) could protect mice from heat stress damage, particularly to the intestines. They found that the combination treatment was more effective than either treatment alone at reducing oxidative stress (cellular damage from unstable molecules), protecting intestinal tissue, and restoring healthy gut bacteria balance in heat-stressed mice.
Practical Takeaway
This is an early-stage animal study showing that hydrogen-rich water combined with tea polyphenols may work synergistically to protect against heat stress damage. However, this was tested only in mice, not humans, and the study duration and sample size were not reported. Much more research would be needed before drawing any conclusions about potential benefits for people.
Abstract
Heat stress (HS) can cause damage to the organism, especially the intestinal tract. In this paper, we investigated the effects of the combined action of tea polyphenols (TP) and hydrogen-rich electrolyzed water (HRW) on HS in mice. The combination of HRW feeding and TP of intraperitoneal injection was screened by in vitro antioxidant activity assay. The results revealed that the combined treatment was more helpful in alleviating the effects of HS on the behavior, growth performance, oxidative damage, and intestinal tract of mice compared with the respective treatments of TP and HRW (P < 0.05). Additionally, the combined treatment could repair HS-induced intestinal dysbiosis in mice, augmenting the number and abundance of bacteria, increasing the number of beneficial genera (Lachnospiraceae_NK4A136_group and Lactobacillus), and decreasing the number of harmful genera (Desulfovibrio and Enterorhabdus), and the effect was significantly better than that of individual treatment (P < 0.05). In conclusion, the combined treatment of TP and HRW effectively mitigates the adverse effects of HS on mouse behavior, growth performance, oxidative damage, and intestinal dysbiosis, surpassing the efficacy of individual treatments with TP or HRW alone.