Hydrogen Water Protects Kidneys from Chemo Drug Damage in Rats
Experimental verification of protective effect of hydrogen-rich water against cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity in rats using dynamic contrast-enhanced CT
This research was done in animals. Results in animals often don't carry over to people.
- Evidence type
- Animal study (rat)
- Authors
- A Kitamura, S Kobayashi, T Matsushita, H Fujinawa, K Murase
- Journal
- The British Journal of Radiology
- Year
- 2010
- PMID
- 20505032
- Study Type
- Rat
- Participants
- 30
- Delivery
- Water (Electrolysis)
- Dose
- hydrogen-rich water starting from 7 days before cisplatin injection
- Duration
- 1 weeks
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Cited by
- 43 (OpenAlex, as of November 2026)
- Country
- Japan
TL;DR
Drinking hydrogen-rich water helped protect rats' kidneys from damage caused by a chemotherapy drug.
Key Finding
Rats given hydrogen-rich water before cisplatin injection showed significantly better kidney function markers compared to rats given standard water, with kidney filtration performance similar to healthy control rats.
Summary
Researchers tested whether hydrogen-rich water could protect rat kidneys from damage caused by cisplatin, a chemotherapy drug. Rats that drank hydrogen-rich water before and after receiving cisplatin showed better kidney function (measured by how well the kidneys filtered contrast dye and by blood creatinine levels, a marker of kidney health) compared to rats that received cisplatin without the hydrogen-rich water.
Practical Takeaway
This is an early-stage animal study suggesting hydrogen-rich water may help protect kidneys from cisplatin-related damage. However, these results are from rats only and have not been tested in humans, so it's too early to draw conclusions about whether this would work for cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. More research, including human studies, would be needed before any clinical recommendations could be made.
Abstract (excerpt)
Our aim was to assess the protective effect of hydrogen-rich water against cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity in rats using dynamic contrast-enhanced CT (DCE-CT). DCE-CT studies were performed in 30 rats (8 weeks old) on days 0, 2, 4 and 7 using multidetector row CT. The rats were divided into three…