Hydrogen Water Protects Kidneys from Damage in Rats
- Authors
- Fei Wang, Guang Yu, Sui-Yi Liu, Jin-Bao Li, Jia-Feng Wang, Lu-Long Bo, Li-Ren Qian, Xue-Jun Sun, Xiao-Ming Deng
- Journal
- Journal of Surgical Research
- Year
- 2011
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.jss.2010.11.005
- Study Type
- Rat
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- China
- Health Condition
- Acute Kidney Injury
- Body System
- Renal
TL;DR
Hydrogen-rich saline can reduce kidney damage caused by temporary loss and restoration of blood flow in rats.
Key Finding
Hydrogen-rich saline significantly reduced oxidative stress markers, inflammatory molecules, and kidney cell death in rats with ischemia/reperfusion injury, while preserving the activity of the kidney's natural antioxidant enzymes.
Summary
Researchers tested whether hydrogen-rich saline (a salt solution containing dissolved hydrogen gas) could protect rat kidneys from damage caused by temporarily cutting off blood flow and then restoring it. They found that hydrogen-rich saline reduced markers of cellular damage, decreased inflammation, and preserved the kidney's natural antioxidant defenses better than regular saline, while also reducing cell death in kidney tissue.
Practical Takeaway
This rat study suggests hydrogen-rich saline may help protect kidneys from damage during ischemia/reperfusion events, but these results are preliminary and from animal studies only. Human clinical trials would be needed to determine if hydrogen water or hydrogen-rich saline could have similar protective effects in people facing kidney injury risk.
Abstract
Recently it has been demonstrated that hydrogen, as a novel antioxidant, can selectively reduce hydroxyl radicals (·OH) and peroxynitrite anion (ONOO-) in vitro and exert therapeutic antioxidant activity in many diseases. This study was designed to investigate the effect of hydrogen-rich saline on renal ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury in rats. A rat model of renal I/R injury was induced by 45-min occlusion of the bilateral renal pedicles and 24-h reperfusion. Physiologic saline, hydrogen-rich saline, or nitrogen-rich saline (8 mL/kg) were administered intraperitoneally at 5 min before reperfusion, respectively. After I/R injury, serum blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine (Cr), tissue malondialdehyde (MDA), 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OhdG), TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 levels, and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity were all increased significantly, while tissue superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities were all decreased significantly. Hydrogen-rich saline reversed these changes and relieved morphological renal injury and I/R-induced apoptosis, while no significant changes were observed in the nitrogen-rich saline-treated group compared with physiologic saline-treated group. Hydrogen-rich saline is able to attenuate the renal I/R injury, which is possibly by reduction of oxidative stress and inflammation.