Hydrogen Water Improves Growth and Health in Chickens
- Authors
- D. Shin, E.S.R. Cho, H-T. Bang, K.S. Shim
- Journal
- Poultry Science
- Year
- 2016
- DOI
- 10.3382/ps/pew237
- Study Type
- Chicken
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- South Korea
- Health Condition
- Oxidative Stress
- Body System
- Immune System
TL;DR
Adding extra oxygen to the drinking water of broiler chickens helps them grow bigger, eat better, and have healthier blood, while also boosting their immune system and body's defense against stress.
Key Finding
Oxygenated water supplementation significantly increased growth performance and weight gain in broiler chickens while reducing abdominal fat accumulation and enhancing immune function through increased antibody production.
Summary
Researchers gave broiler chickens (a type of chicken raised for meat) either regular tap water, water enriched with hydrogen, or water enriched with oxygen for five weeks. Chickens drinking oxygenated water gained more weight, ate more efficiently, had less belly fat, and showed improved immune markers (antibodies called IgG and IgM) compared to those drinking regular water. Both oxygenated and hydrogenated water improved blood cholesterol levels and antioxidant enzyme activity (proteins that protect cells from damage).
Practical Takeaway
This study was conducted in chickens only, not humans, so its relevance to people is unclear. While the results suggest oxygen-enriched water may have biological effects on growth and immune markers in poultry, this does not establish that similar benefits would occur in humans. Much more research, including human trials, would be needed before drawing conclusions about hydrogen or oxygenated water for human health.
Abstract
This study was conducted to investigate the effects of providing oxygenated and hydrogenated water on the growth performance, blood biochemical parameters, and immunoglobulin concentrations and antioxidant enzyme activity of broiler chickens. In our investigation, 144 Ross × Ross broiler chicks were randomly allotted to three different treatment groups with four replicates (treatment × replicate × bird = 3 × 4 × 12). All chicks were given one of the following types of water for five weeks: tap water (CON), hydrogenated water (HNW), and oxygenated water (ONW). ONW supplementation increased the final body weight and weight gain and also improved both feed intake and feed conversion of broiler chickens as compared to those of CON broiler chickens (P 0.05). Both oxygenated and hydrogenated water supplementation significantly improved the antioxidant effects (P < 0.05), and it seems that superoxide dismutase refinement was completed due to oxygen and/or hydrogen enhancement of drinking water. These results indicate that oxygen enhancement of drinking water may be recommended to improve growth performance by increasing immunoglobulins mainly IgG and IgM.