Hydrogen Water Shows Promise for Treating Inflammatory Bowel Disease
- Authors
- Tyler W. LeBaron, Fereshteh Asgharzadeh, Majid Khazei, Branislav Kura, Alex Tarnava, Jan Slezak
- Journal
- EXCLI Journal
- Year
- 2021
- DOI
- 10.17179/excli2021-3762
- Study Type
- Mouse
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- Slovak Republic
- Health Condition
- Colitis
- Body System
- Digestive System
TL;DR
Drinking water enriched with hydrogen gas (H2) may help reduce inflammation and damage in the bowels of mice with colitis, potentially offering a new treatment option.
Key Finding
Hydrogen-rich water was comparable to sulfasalazine, a standard colitis medication, in reducing inflammation and improving disease markers in mice with induced colitis.
Summary
Researchers gave mice a chemical that causes colitis (bowel inflammation) and then treated them with hydrogen-rich water, a standard colitis drug called sulfasalazine, or both. Both hydrogen-rich water and sulfasalazine improved disease symptoms, reduced inflammation markers, and restored the body's natural antioxidant defenses (molecules that protect cells from damage). The combination of both treatments showed a trend toward being more effective than either alone.
Practical Takeaway
This mouse study suggests hydrogen-rich water may have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects relevant to colitis, but results from animal studies do not automatically translate to humans. No human trials have been conducted yet, so it is too early to recommend hydrogen water as a colitis treatment. Anyone with inflammatory bowel disease should continue working with their healthcare provider rather than relying on unproven therapies.
Abstract
Colitis is an inflammatory condition of the bowels associated with abdominal pain, diarrhea, fatigue, and fever. Its etiology is multifactorial but related to the overproduction of inflammatory and oxidative mediators. There is currently no cure for this disease, and drugs used to manage it often have deleterious side effects. H2 is recognized as having anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, which may qualify it as a novel therapeutic for colitis. We induced an acute model of colitis in mice by administering dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) in drinking water for seven days. Mice were divided into five groups (n=6); normal, colitis, H2-treated colitis, sulfasalazine-treated colitis, and H2 plus sulfasalazine-treated colitis. From days three to ten, mice were given H2, sulfasalazine, or both. H2 was administered via dissolving a hydrogen-generating tablet in water to make hydrogen-rich water (HRW), which was ingested ad libitum and via oral gavage (200 μL). The Disease Activity Index (DAI), histological changes, and markers of inflammation and oxidative stress were assessed. HRW and sulfasalazine significantly improved bodyweight, DAI, mucosal damage, crypt loss, and spleen weight compared to control. Both treatments significantly decreased inflammation (high-sensitive C-reactive protein) and restored redox balance (total thiol, superoxide dismutase, catalase activity). There was a trend for the combination treatment to be more effective than either HRW or sulfasalazine alone. Furthermore, HRW tended to be as effective as, and often more effective than, sulfasalazine. HRW may serve as a therapeutic for ameliorating DSS-induced colitis in mice.