Hydrogen Therapy Protects Lungs from Smoke Damage in Animal Study
Protective Effects of Hydrogen-Rich Saline on Rats with Smoke Inhalation Injury
Research hubs: Respiratory System
This research was done in animals. Results in animals often don't carry over to people.
- Evidence type
- Animal study (rat)
- Authors
- Xing Chen, Qi Liu, Dawei Wang, Shihai Feng, Yongjian Zhao, Yun Shi, Qun Liu
- Journal
- Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity
- Year
- 2015
- PMID
- 26090070
- Study Type
- Rat
- Participants
- 36
- Delivery
- Saline (Dissolved)
- Dose
- 5 mL/kg hydrogen-rich saline injected intraperitoneally 30 min after injury
- Duration
- 1 day or less
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Cited by
- 31 (OpenAlex, as of November 2026)
- Country
- China
TL;DR
Breathing in hydrogen-rich saline helps protect rats' lungs from damage caused by smoke inhalation.
Key Finding
In rats with smoke inhalation injury, hydrogen-rich saline treatment reduced inflammatory markers and oxidative stress while improving lung tissue structure compared to standard saline treatment.
Summary
Researchers gave rats smoke inhalation injuries and then treated some with hydrogen-rich saline (salt water containing dissolved hydrogen) injected into the abdomen. Compared to rats treated with regular saline, those receiving hydrogen-rich saline showed reduced inflammation markers, less cellular damage from oxidative stress (a type of chemical damage), and better lung tissue structure 24 hours after injury.
Practical Takeaway
This is an early-stage animal study suggesting hydrogen-rich saline may help protect lungs from smoke injury through anti-inflammatory and antioxidant mechanisms. However, this was tested only in rats with injected hydrogen-rich saline, not in humans, so it's unclear whether similar effects would occur with hydrogen water consumed by mouth or whether benefits would translate to people.
Abstract (excerpt)
Objective. To explore the protective effects of hydrogen-rich saline on rats with smoke inhalation injury.Methods. 36 healthy male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 3 groups (n=12per group): sham group (S), inhalation injury plus normal saline treatment group (I+NS), and inhalation…