Hydrogen Water Protects Gut from Ischemia Injury in Rat Study
- Authors
- Mao-Jun Wu, Min Chen, Sang Sang, Long-Long Hou, Mao-Lang Tian, Kuang Li, Fang-Qi Lv
- Journal
- Medical Gas Research
- Year
- 2017
- DOI
- 10.4103/2045-9912.208515
- Study Type
- Rat
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- China
- Health Condition
- Intestinal Intussusception
- Body System
- Gastrointestinal
TL;DR
Drinking hydrogen-rich water reduced damage and inflammation in rat intestines after a blockage and restoration of blood flow, suggesting it might help protect against similar intestinal injuries.
Key Finding
In rats with intestinal ischemia/reperfusion injury, hydrogen-rich water reduced intestinal tissue damage, decreased inflammatory markers, lowered oxidative stress, and reduced programmed cell death compared to saline treatment.
Summary
Researchers tested whether hydrogen-rich water could protect rat intestines from damage caused by temporarily cutting off blood supply and then restoring it (a condition called ischemia/reperfusion injury). Rats that received hydrogen-rich water after this injury showed less intestinal damage, lower inflammation markers, and reduced cell death compared to rats that received only saline, suggesting hydrogen may help the intestine recover from this type of injury.
Practical Takeaway
This is an early-stage animal study showing hydrogen-rich water may help protect intestinal tissue from ischemia/reperfusion injury. However, these results are from rats only and have not been tested in humans, so it's too early to draw conclusions about whether hydrogen water would have similar protective effects in people with intestinal injuries.
Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the protective effects of hydrogen rich water on the intestinal ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury in a rat intestinal intussusception (II) model. Ninety Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned into three groups (n = 30 per group). In sham group, rats received laparotomy, and the intestine was exposed for 15 minutes without II. In I/R + saline group and I/R + hydrogen group, rats received II after laparotomy and then intestine was relocated 8 hours later, followed by immediately intraperitoneal injection of normal saline and hydrogen rich water (HRW) (5 mL/kg), respectively. One hour later, the intestine was collected for hematoxylin-eosin staining and immunohistochemistry for apoptotic cells and 8-oxo-deoxyguanosine, and blood was harvested for detection of tumor necrosis factor-α, malondialdehyde and superoxide dismutase. Hematoxylin-eosin staining showed the intestinal mucosa was significantly damaged in I/R + saline group, which was markedly attenuated after HRW treatment. The serum tumor necrosis factor-α content increased significantly in I/R + saline group, but HRW treatment reduced serum tumor necrosis factor-α content as compared to I/R + saline group (P < 0.05). Serum malondialdehyde content and 8-oxo-deoxyguanosine positive cells in the intestine increased dramatically after II, but HRW significantly reduced them in I/R+hydrogen group (P < 0.05). In addition, superoxide dismutase activity reduced markedly and apoptotic cells increased in I/R + saline group as compared to sham group, but they HRW increased superoxide dismutase activity and reduced apoptotic cells significantly in I/R + hydrogen group (P < 0.05). Our results indicate hydrogen rich water is able to attenuate II induced intestinal I/R injury via inhibiting intestinal inflammation, attenuating intestinal/serum oxidative stress and reducing apoptotic intestinal cells.