Hydrogen Water Reduces Inflammation in Colitis Study
- Authors
- Mikihito Kajiya, Marcelo J.B. Silva, Kimihiro Sato, Kazuhisa Ouhara, Toshihisa Kawai
- Journal
- Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications
- Year
- 2009
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.bbrc.2009.05.117
- Study Type
- Mouse
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- United States
- Health Condition
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease
- Body System
- Digestive
TL;DR
Hydrogen gas in drinking water reduced inflammation and damage in a mouse model of human bowel disease.
Key Finding
Molecular hydrogen gas significantly reduced colon inflammation, tissue damage, and inflammatory markers in mice with DSS-induced colitis, suggesting it may have anti-inflammatory effects in inflammatory bowel disease.
Summary
Researchers gave mice a chemical called dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) to create a condition similar to inflammatory bowel disease in humans. Some mice received regular water with DSS, while others received water containing both DSS and molecular hydrogen gas (H2). Over 7 days, mice that received hydrogen gas showed less weight loss, less colon damage, and lower levels of inflammatory markers (immune signaling molecules) compared to mice that only received DSS.
Practical Takeaway
This is an early-stage animal study showing hydrogen water may help reduce colon inflammation in a mouse model of inflammatory bowel disease. However, results in mice do not automatically translate to humans, and much more research—including human trials—would be needed before any health recommendations could be made.
Abstract
By its antioxidant effect, molecular hydrogen gas (H2) was reported to protect organs from tissue damage induced by ischemia reperfusion. To evaluate its anti-inflammatory effects, we established a mouse model of human inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) by supplying mice with water containing (1) dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) (5%), (2) DSS (5%) and H2, or (3) H2 only ad libitum up to 7 days. At day-7, DSS-induced pathogenic outcomes including, loss of body weight, increase of colitis score, pathogenic shortening of colon length, elevated level of IL-12, TNF-alpha and IL-1beta in colon lesion, were significantly suppressed by the addition of H2 to DSS solution. Histological analysis also revealed that the DSS-mediated colonic tissue destruction accompanied by macrophage infiltration was remarkably suppressed by H2. Therefore, the present study indicated that H2 can prevent the development of DSS-induced colitis in mice.