Nano-Bubble Hydrogen Water Fights Viral Infections in Fish Study
- Authors
- Chen Li, Yiran Cao, Fukuda Kohei, Haihong Hao, Guiqing Peng, Can Cheng, Jing Ye
- Journal
- Virologica Sinica
- Year
- 2022
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.virs.2022.01.023
- Study Type
- Zebrafish
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- China
- Health Condition
- Viral Infections
- Body System
- Immune System
TL;DR
Nano-bubble hydrogen water significantly reduces the harmful effects of a virus in zebrafish, including lowering death rates and inflammation.
Key Finding
Nano-bubble hydrogen water reduced mortality by 40% in virus-infected zebrafish and significantly decreased viral replication, tissue damage, and inflammatory markers.
Summary
Researchers tested a special type of hydrogen water called nano-bubble hydrogen water on fish infected with a virus to see if it could reduce inflammation and tissue damage. The hydrogen water reduced death rates by 40% in infected fish, slowed virus spread, decreased harmful molecules called reactive oxygen species, and lowered inflammatory proteins. This early-stage study suggests hydrogen water may help fight viral infections by reducing the body's inflammatory response.
Practical Takeaway
While these results are promising, this is an early-stage study in fish, not humans. The findings suggest nano-bubble hydrogen water may have anti-inflammatory and antiviral potential, but much more research—including human studies—would be needed before any health claims could be made. The improved solubility of nano-bubble hydrogen water compared to regular hydrogen water may make it more effective if similar benefits occur in humans, but this remains unproven.
Abstract
Since the anti-inflammatory effect of hydrogen has been widely known, it was supposed that hydrogen could suppress tissue damage by inhibiting virus-related inflammatory reactions. However, hydrogen is slightly soluble in water, which leads to poor effect of oral hydrogen-rich water therapy. In this study, the nano-bubble hydrogen water (nano-HW) (about 0.7 ppm) was prepared and its therapeutic effect against viral infection was investigated by utilizing spring viraemia of carp virus (SVCV)-infected zebrafish as model. Three-month-old zebrafish were divided into nano-HW treatment-treated group and aquaculture water treated group (control group). The results revealed that the cumulative mortality rate of SVCV-infected zebrafish was reduced by 40% after treatment with nano-bubble hydrogen water, and qRT-PCR results showed that SVCV replication was significantly inhibited. Histopathological examination staining showed that SVCV infection caused tissue damage was greatly alleviated after treatment with nano-bubble hydrogen water. Futhermore, SVCV infection caused reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation was significantly reduced upon nano-HW treatment. The level of proinflammatory cytokines IL-1β, IL-8, and TNF-α was remarkably reduced in the nano-HW-treated group in vivo and in vitro. Taken together, our data demonstrated for the first time that nano-HW could inhibit the inflammatory response caused by viral infection in zebrafish, which suggests that nano-HW can be applied to antiviral research，and provides a novel therapeutic strategy for virus-caused inflammation related disease.