Hydrogen Water Protects DNA and Fights Aging by Neutralizing Free Radicals
- Authors
- Sanetaka Shirahata, Shigeru Kabayama, Mariko Nakano, Takumi Miura, Kenichi Kusumoto, Miho Gotoh, Hidemitsu Hayashi, Kazumichi Otsubo, Shinkatsu Morisawa, Yoshinori Katakura
- Journal
- Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications
- Year
- 1997
- DOI
- 10.1006/bbrc.1997.6622
- Study Type
- Molecular Assay
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- Japan
- Health Condition
- Oxidative Stress
- Body System
- Cellular
TL;DR
Special 'reduced water' created near the negative electrode during water electrolysis can effectively neutralize harmful oxygen-containing molecules that contribute to disease and aging.
Key Finding
Electrolyzed-reduced water neutralized multiple types of free radicals in laboratory tests and protected DNA from oxidative damage, with its antioxidant activity attributed to dissolved atomic hydrogen rather than molecular hydrogen alone.
Summary
Researchers tested whether electrolyzed-reduced water (water treated with electricity to add hydrogen) could neutralize harmful molecules called free radicals that damage cells and DNA. In laboratory tests, the reduced water successfully blocked multiple types of free radicals and protected DNA from damage, similar to known antioxidants like vitamin C. The protective effect came from atomic hydrogen dissolved in the water, not just regular hydrogen gas.
Practical Takeaway
This is an early laboratory study showing potential antioxidant properties of electrolyzed-reduced water, but it was conducted in test tubes and petri dishes, not in humans or animals. Much more research would be needed to determine whether these effects translate to health benefits in people. The findings suggest a possible mechanism worth investigating further, but do not establish that drinking such water would prevent disease or aging.
Abstract
Active oxygen species or free radicals are considered to cause extensive oxidative damage to biological macromolecules, which brings about a variety of diseases as well as aging. The ideal scavenger for active oxygen should be 'active hydrogen'. 'Active hydrogen' can be produced in reduced water near the cathode during electrolysis of water. Reduced water exhibits high pH, low dissolved oxygen (DO), extremely high dissolved molecular hydrogen (DH), and extremely negative redox potential (RP) values. Strongly electrolyzed-reduced water, as well as ascorbic acid, (+)-catechin and tannic acid, completely scavenged O.-2 produced by the hypoxanthine-xanthine oxidase (HX-XOD) system in sodium phosphate buffer (pH 7.0). The superoxide dismutase (SOD)-like activity of reduced water is stable at 4 degrees C for over a month and was not lost even after neutralization, repeated freezing and melting, deflation with sonication, vigorous mixing, boiling, repeated filtration, or closed autoclaving, but was lost by opened autoclaving or by closed autoclaving in the presence of tungsten trioxide which efficiently adsorbs active atomic hydrogen. Water bubbled with hydrogen gas exhibited low DO, extremely high DH and extremely low RP values, as does reduced water, but it has no SOD-like activity. These results suggest that the SOD-like activity of reduced water is not due to the dissolved molecular hydrogen but due to the dissolved atomic hydrogen (active hydrogen). Although SOD accumulated H2O2 when added to the HX-XOD system, reduced water decreased the amount of H2O2 produced by XOD. Reduced water, as well as catalase and ascorbic acid, could directly scavenge H2O2. Reduce water suppresses single-strand breakage of DNA b active oxygen species produced by the Cu(II)-catalyzed oxidation of ascorbic acid in a dose-dependent manner, suggesting that reduced water can scavenge not only O2.- and H2O2, but also 1O2 and .OH.