Hydrogen Saline Protects Lungs from Paraquat Pesticide Poisoning
- Authors
- Hui-li Zhang
- Journal
- World Journal of Emergency Medicine
- Year
- 2011
- DOI
- 10.5847/wjem.j.1920-8642.2011.02.013
- Study Type
- Rat
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- China
- Health Condition
- Acute Lung Injury
- Body System
- Respiratory
TL;DR
Saturated hydrogen saline treatment reduces lung damage and oxidative stress in rats poisoned with paraquat.
Key Finding
Hydrogen-enriched saline treatment reduced lung damage, improved blood oxygen levels, and decreased markers of oxidative stress in rats poisoned with paraquat.
Summary
Researchers gave rats a toxic chemical called paraquat to damage their lungs, then treated some of them with hydrogen-enriched saline (a salt solution containing dissolved hydrogen). The treated rats showed less lung damage, better oxygen levels in their blood, less fluid buildup in their lungs, and lower levels of harmful molecules that indicate oxidative stress (damage from unstable oxygen molecules) compared to untreated poisoned rats.
Practical Takeaway
This is an early-stage animal study showing that hydrogen saline may help protect lungs from paraquat poisoning by reducing oxidative damage. However, this was only tested in rats, not humans, so it's unclear whether these results would apply to people or what the right dose would be for human use.
Abstract
Background: Paraquat (PQ) intoxication causes lung oxidative stress damage. Saturated hydrogen saline, a newly explored antioxidant, has been documented to play a powerful antioxidant role in preventing oxidative stress damage. This study aimed to investigate the protective effects and the possible mechanisms of intoxication on rats with acute lung injury (ALI) caused by paraquat poisoning. Methods: Thirty PQ poisoned rats were randomly divided into a PQ intoxication group (intoxication group), a saturated hydrogen saline intervention group (intervention group), and a control group, with 10 rats in each group. The first two groups accepted an intragastric administration of PQ at a dose of 50 mg/kg for every single rat, and the control group was fed with a same volume of normal saline. Five mL/kg of saturated hydrogen saline was given to the intervention group three times a day by peritoneal injection for three days after intoxication. Arterial blood gas was detected on the third day. The rats were executed and their lungs were taken for measurement of wet dry weight ratio, homogenate malondialdehyde (MDA), and 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OhdG). Histological changes of the lungs were also observed. Results: Compared with the control group, the intoxication group had more serious hypoxemia, greater wet/dry weight ratio, higher MDA level, higher expression of 8-OhdG and more severe lung damage (P<0.01 or P<0.05). However, after intervention with saturated hydrogen saline, poisoned animals turned to have lighter hypoxemia, smaller wet/dry weight ratio, lower MDA level, lower expression of 8-OhdG, and milder lung damage (P<0.01 or P<0.05). Conclusions: Saturated hydrogen saline is effective in preventing acute lung injury caused by PQ. Possibly, it can neutralize toxic oxygen radicals selectively and alleviate the oxidative stress injury induced by PQ.