Hydrogen Saline Protects Hearts from Damage During Heart Attacks in Rats
- Authors
- Zeynep Koksal, Omer Kurtipek, Mustafa Arslan, Ali Dogan Dursun, Zeynep Yigman, Abdullah Ozer
- Journal
- Heliyon
- Year
- 2023
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e22973
- Study Type
- Rat
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- Turkey
- Health Condition
- Myocardial Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury
- Body System
- Cardiovascular
TL;DR
Injecting a hydrogen-rich saline solution into rats before restoring blood flow to the heart reduces damage caused by interrupted blood supply.
Key Finding
Hydrogen-rich saline solution reduced heart tissue damage and swelling in rats experiencing simulated heart attack conditions, with the strongest protective effect occurring when given 5 minutes before blood flow was restored.
Summary
Researchers gave rats hydrogen-rich saline solution (a salt water mixture containing dissolved hydrogen) to see if it could protect heart tissue from damage caused by temporarily cutting off blood flow and then restoring it. They found that rats receiving the hydrogen solution before blood flow was restored had less heart tissue damage, less swelling, and better antioxidant (damage-fighting) markers compared to rats that didn't receive it.
Practical Takeaway
This rat study suggests hydrogen-rich saline may have protective effects on heart tissue during ischemia-reperfusion injury, but these findings cannot yet be applied to humans. Much more research, including human trials, would be needed before any health claims could be made about hydrogen water for heart health.
Abstract
Aim: The aim of our study is to show whether the administration of hydrogen-rich saline solution (HRSS) intraperitoneally before left main coronary artery (LAD) ischemia protects the myocardium against ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury. Materials and methods: After ethics committee approval, 24 Wistar Albino rats were divided into 4 groups, 6 rats in each group. For experimental IR, myocardial ischemia was performed by LAD ligation. Left thoracotomy was performed without ischemia in the Control group (Group C). Left thoracotomy was performed without myocardial ischemia to the rats in the HRSS group, and HRSS was given intraperitoneally (ip) at a rate of 10 ml/kg throughout the procedure. In the MIR-HRSS group, a single dose of 10 ml/kg HRSS was administered 5 min before reperfusion. Histopathological and biochemical parameters were compared in myocardial tissue samples taken at the end of the reperfusion period. Results: When the groups were compared among themselves in terms of TOS and TAS levels, there was a significant difference between the groups (p = 0.006, p = 0.002). The severity of cardiomyocyte degeneration was significantly greater in MIR group than that in the control and HRSS groups (p = 0.002 and p = 0.001, respectively), as well as severity score of cardiomyocyte degeneration was higher in MIR-HRSS group compared with HRSS group (p = 0.035). Conclusion: Our study shows that HRSS is protective in IR injury, with the application of HRSS 5 min before reperfusion, interstitial edema severity, subendocardial haemorrhage are reduced, and oxidant status parameters are increased, while antioxidant status parameters are decreased. We believe that when it is supported by other studies, the protective effects of HRSS on IR damage will be shown in detail and its indications will be expanded.