Hydrogen Water Protects Mice from Deadly Radiation Exposure
- Authors
- Masaru Yamaguchi, Kin Thandar Htun, Youta Tatara, Yoshiaki Sato, Masato Hosoda, Suchart Kothan, Osamu Kamimura, Ikuo Kashiwakaru
- Journal
- Nature Scientific Reports
- Year
- 2025
- DOI
- 10.1038/s41598-025-87963-z
- Study Type
- Mouse
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- Japan
- Health Condition
- Radiation Exposure
- Body System
- Immune System
TL;DR
Drinking water with ultra-fine hydrogen bubbles significantly increased the survival of mice exposed to harmful radiation.
Key Finding
Mice drinking ultra-fine bubble hydrogen water showed dramatically improved survival after whole-body X-ray exposure, with 100% survival at sub-lethal doses versus 37% in control mice, and 40% survival at lethal doses versus 0% in controls.
Summary
Researchers gave mice a special type of hydrogen water with ultra-fine bubbles and then exposed them to high doses of X-rays. Mice that drank this hydrogen water survived much better than control mice—100% survival at a sub-lethal radiation dose compared to 37% in untreated mice. The hydrogen water appeared to work by neutralizing harmful molecules called hydroxyl radicals that are created by radiation, and by boosting immune-related proteins in the blood.
Practical Takeaway
This is an early-stage animal study showing hydrogen water may have radio-protective properties, but it was conducted only in mice under extreme radiation conditions not typical of human exposure. Much more research, including human studies, would be needed before any conclusions could be drawn about hydrogen water's usefulness for radiation protection in people.
Abstract
Many studies have demonstrated hydrogen's therapeutic and preventive effects on various diseases. Its selective antioxidant properties against hydroxyl radicals, which are responsible for the indirect effects of ionizing radiation, may make it worthy of attention as a new radio-protector. We recently developed new hydrogen water that is more stable and has higher antioxidant activity by using ultra-fine bubbles. In this study, female C57BL/6J mice given ad libitum access to ultra-fine bubble hydrogen water (UBHW) were subjected to whole-body irradiation (WBI) with X-rays, and the radio-protective effect of UBHW was evaluated. WBI with 6.0 Gy (sub-lethal dose) resulted in a 30-day survival rate of 100% in UBHW-fed mice, compared with 37% in control mice. In the case of WBI with 6.5 Gy (lethal dose), while the control mice died out in about 3 weeks, the 30-day survival rate improved to 40% by UBHW due to the high scavenging activity of hydroxy radicals. Twenty-six serum proteins involved in inflammatory and immune responses were significantly identified in UBHW-fed mice by proteomics, and UBHW may enhance and regulate these functions, resulting in reduced damage in mice exposed to WBI. We conclude that UBHW has good potential in radio-protection, with evidence that warrants further research efforts in this field.