How Different Ways of Taking Hydrogen Affect Levels in Blood and Organs
- Authors
- Chi Liu, Ryosuke Kurokawa, Masayuki Fujino, Shinichi Hirano, Bunpei Sato, Xiao-Kang Li
- Journal
- Scientific Reports
- Year
- 2015
- DOI
- 10.1038/srep05485
- Study Type
- Rat
- Outcome
- Neutral
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- Japan
- Health Condition
- Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury
- Body System
- Cardiovascular
TL;DR
Scientists have developed a new method to measure hydrogen levels in rats, finding that these levels peak quickly after hydrogen is given orally, through the belly, or via the veins, and remain high after inhaling hydrogen gas.
Key Finding
Intravenous administration of hydrogen-rich saline reached peak blood and tissue hydrogen levels fastest (1 minute), while inhalation of hydrogen gas produced sustained elevated levels lasting at least 30 minutes.
Summary
Researchers tested different ways to deliver hydrogen to rats—by mouth, injection, intravenous infusion, and inhalation—and measured how much hydrogen reached their blood and organs. They found that intravenous injection got hydrogen into the bloodstream fastest (within 1 minute), while swallowing hydrogen-rich water peaked at 5 minutes. Breathing in hydrogen gas produced sustained levels that stayed elevated for at least 30 minutes. This study developed a reliable method for measuring hydrogen levels in animal tissues, which could help researchers design better hydrogen-based treatments.
Practical Takeaway
This is an animal study that measured how quickly hydrogen reaches different tissues depending on delivery method—important groundwork for understanding how hydrogen therapies might work in the body. However, it does not test whether hydrogen actually produces health benefits in rats or humans, only how much hydrogen accumulates where and when. Results in rats may not directly translate to humans.
Abstract
Hydrogen exerts beneficial effects in disease animal models of ischemia-reperfusion injury as well as inflammatory and neurological disease. Additionally, molecular hydrogen is useful for various novel medical and therapeutic applications in the clinical setting. In the present study, the hydrogen concentration in rat blood and tissue was estimated. Wistar rats were orally administered hydrogen super-rich water (HSRW), intraperitoneal and intravenous administration of hydrogen super-rich saline (HSRS), and inhalation of hydrogen gas. A new method for determining the hydrogen concentration was then applied using high-quality sensor gas chromatography, after which the specimen was prepared via tissue homogenization in airtight tubes. This method allowed for the sensitive and stable determination of the hydrogen concentration. The hydrogen concentration reached a peak at 5 minutes after oral and intraperitoneal administration, compared to 1 minute after intravenous administration. Following inhalation of hydrogen gas, the hydrogen concentration was found to be significantly increased at 30 minutes and maintained the same level thereafter. These results demonstrate that accurately determining the hydrogen concentration in rat blood and organ tissue is very useful and important for the application of various novel medical and therapeutic therapies using molecular hydrogen.