Hydrogen Water Speeds Up Wound Healing in Dogs by 40%
- Authors
- Dong-Dong Qi, Meng-Yuan Ding, Ting Wang, Muhammad Abid Hayat, Tao Liu, Jian-Tao Zhang
- Journal
- Veterinary Sciences
- Year
- 2021
- DOI
- 10.3390/vetsci8110264
- Study Type
- Dog
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- China
- Health Condition
- Cutaneous Wounds
- Body System
- Integumentary
TL;DR
Drinking hydrogen-rich water (HRW) helps dogs heal skin wounds faster than regular distilled water.
Key Finding
Dogs that drank hydrogen-rich water three times daily showed significantly faster skin wound healing, increased blood vessel formation, and reduced oxidative stress compared to dogs given regular water.
Summary
Researchers gave dogs hydrogen-rich water to drink and compared how well their skin wounds healed compared to dogs drinking regular distilled water. Dogs drinking hydrogen-rich water showed faster wound healing, with wounds closing more quickly and developing more blood vessels. The hydrogen-rich water also reduced harmful molecules called oxidative stress markers and boosted the body's natural antioxidant defenses in the wound area.
Practical Takeaway
While this dog study suggests hydrogen-rich water may support wound healing through antioxidant mechanisms, results from animal studies do not automatically apply to humans. More research in people would be needed to determine whether similar benefits occur in human wound healing. The study also did not report sample size or treatment duration, which limits confidence in the findings.
Abstract
This study explored the effects of drinking Hydrogen-rich water (HRW) on skin wound healing in dogs. Eight circular wounds were analyzed in each dog. The experimental group was treated with HRW thrice daily, while the control group was provided with distilled water (DW). The wound tissues of dogs were examined histopathologically. The fibroblasts, inflammatory cell infiltration, the average number of new blood vessels, and the level of malondialdehyde (MDA) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in the skin homogenate of the wound was measured using the corresponding kits. The expressions of Nrf-2, HO-1, NQO-1, VEGF, and PDGF were measured using the real-time fluorescence quantitative method. We observed that HRW wounds showed an increased rate of wound healing, and a faster average healing time compared with DW. Histopathology showed that in the HRW group, the average thickness of the epidermis was significantly lower than the DW group. The average number of blood vessels in the HRW group was higher than the DW group. The MDA levels were higher in the DW group than in the HRW group, but the SOD levels were higher in the HRW group than in the DW group. The results of qRT-PCR showed that the expression of each gene was significantly different between the two groups. HRW treatment promoted skin wound healing in dogs, accelerated wound epithelization, reduced inflammatory reaction, stimulated the expression of cytokines related to wound healing, and shortened wound healing time.