Hydrogen Water Protects Brain from Pesticide Damage in Rat Study
- Authors
- Tingting Wang, Ling Zhao, Mengyu Liu, Fei Xie, Xuemei Ma, Pengxiang Zhao, Yunqi Liu, Jiala Li, Minglian Wang, Zhaona Yang, Yutong Zhang
- Journal
- Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology
- Year
- 2014
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.taap.2014.06.011
- Study Type
- Rat
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- China
- Health Condition
- Neurotoxicity
- Body System
- Nervous System
TL;DR
Drinking hydrogen-rich water appears to protect rats from brain damage caused by exposure to a common pesticide.
Key Finding
Hydrogen-rich water reduced brain damage and oxidative stress in rats exposed to chlorpyrifos, and also improved the activity of an important brain enzyme called acetylcholinesterase.
Summary
This study tested whether hydrogen-rich water could protect rats from brain damage caused by chlorpyrifos, a pesticide that causes oxidative stress (cellular damage from harmful molecules). Researchers gave rats low doses of chlorpyrifos and some also received hydrogen-rich water. The rats that drank hydrogen-rich water showed less damage to brain cells, reduced harmful molecules, and better enzyme function compared to rats that only received chlorpyrifos.
Practical Takeaway
This is an animal study only, so results cannot be directly applied to humans yet. The findings suggest hydrogen-rich water may have protective properties against pesticide-related brain damage, but human studies would be needed to determine if this applies to people. The study's duration and exact dosing details were not reported, which limits how much we can infer about practical applications.
Abstract
Chronic exposure to low-levels of organophosphate (OP) compounds, such as chlorpyrifos (CPF), induces oxidative stress and could be related to neurological disorders. Hydrogen has been identified as a novel antioxidant which could selectively scavenge hydroxyl radicals. We explore whether intake of hydrogen-rich water (HRW) can protect Wistar rats from CPF-induced neurotoxicity. Rats were gavaged daily with 6.75mg/kg body weight (1/20 LD50) of CPF and given HRW by oral intake. Nissl staining and electron microscopy results indicated that HRW intake had protective effects on the CPF-induced damage of hippocampal neurons and neuronal mitochondria. Immunostaining results showed that the increased glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) expression in astrocytes induced by CPF exposure can be ameliorated by HRW intake. Moreover, HRW intake also attenuated CPF-induced oxidative stress as evidenced by enhanced level of MDA, accompanied by an increase in GSH level and SOD and CAT activity. Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity tests showed significant decrease in brain AChE activity after CPF exposure, and this effect can be ameliorated by HRW intake. An in vitro study demonstrated that AChE activity was more intense in HRW than in normal water with or without chlorpyrifos-oxon (CPO), the metabolically-activated form of CPF. These observations suggest that HRW intake can protect rats from CPF-induced neurotoxicity, and the protective effects of hydrogen may be mediated by regulating the oxidant and antioxidant status of rats. Furthermore, this work defines a novel mechanism of biological activity of hydrogen by directly increasing the AChE activity.