Hydrogen Saline Protects Against Sepsis in Animal Study
- Authors
- Guo-Min Li, Mu-Huo Ji, Xue-Jun Sun, Qiu-Ting Zeng, Mi Tian, Yun-Xia Fan, Wei-Yan Li, Ning Li, Jian-Jun Yang
- Journal
- Journal of Surgical Research
- Year
- 2013
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.jss.2012.06.058
- Study Type
- Rat
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- China
- Health Condition
- Sepsis
- Body System
- Immune System
TL;DR
Hydrogen-rich saline (HRS) may help reduce inflammation and organ damage in rats with sepsis but doesn't seem to increase their chances of survival.
Key Finding
Hydrogen-rich saline reduced organ damage markers, inflammatory responses, and cell death in septic rats, but did not improve 7-day survival rates compared to untreated sepsis.
Summary
Researchers tested whether hydrogen-rich saline could help rats with sepsis (a life-threatening infection). They induced sepsis in rats and gave some of them hydrogen-rich saline injections while others received regular saline. The hydrogen-rich saline reduced markers of organ damage (liver and kidney), decreased lung inflammation and swelling, and reduced cell death compared to untreated sepsis. However, it did not improve survival rates over the 7-day study period.
Practical Takeaway
This rat study suggests hydrogen-rich saline may help protect organs during severe infection by reducing inflammation and oxidative stress (cellular damage from harmful molecules). However, this is early-stage animal research with no human trials yet, and the lack of survival benefit raises questions about clinical relevance. Much more research, including human studies, would be needed before any health claims could be made.
Abstract
Background: Hydrogen has been reported to selectively reduce hydroxyl radicals and peroxynitrite anion in many pathologic processes. This study aimed to test the hypothesis that hydrogen-rich saline (HRS) may ameliorate organ dysfunction in a rat model of polymicrobial sepsis. Methods: Sepsis was induced in male Sprague-Dawley rats by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). Twenty-four rats were equally assigned to Sham group, CLP group, and CLP + HRS group (n = 8). At 0, 6, and 18 h after CLP or sham operation, rats received an intraperitoneal injection of HRS (5 mL/kg) or the same volume of normal saline. Malondialdehyde, superoxide dismutase activities, inflammatory mediators, pulmonary nitric oxide, myeloperoxidase activities, wet-to-dry weight ratio, histologic scores, apoptotic analysis, alanine aminotransferase, creatinine, and blood urea nitrogen were assessed at 24 h after operation. The 7-d survival rate was also recorded. Results: HRS administration significantly reduced the serum high-mobility group box, alanine aminotransferase, creatinine, and blood urea nitrogen levels; the pulmonary interleukin 6, high-mobility group box, nitric oxide, and malondialdehyde levels; and the wet-to-dry weight ratio, total histologic scores, and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling-positive cells, whereas it increased the superoxide dismutase activities 24 h after CLP when compared with the CLP group. However, there was no significant difference in survival rate between the CLP + HRS and CLP groups. Conclusions: HRS has potential protective effects against sepsis by decreasing proinflammatory responses, oxidative stress, and apoptosis in a rat model of polymicrobial sepsis.