Clinical effects of hydrogen administration: From animal and human diseases to exercise medicine
“There are no safety issues with hydrogen; it has been used for years in gas mixtures for deep diving and in numerous clinical trials without adverse events, and there are no warnings in the literature of its toxicity or long term exposure effects.”
Nicolson, G. L., Mattos, G. F., Settineri, R., Costa, C., Ellithorpe, R., Rosenblatt, S., . . . Ohta, S. (2016). Clinical effects of hydrogen administration: From animal and human diseases to exercise medicine. International Journal of Clinical Medicine, 7(1), 32-76. doi: 10.4236/ijcm.2016.71005
Experimental verification of protective effect of hydrogen-rich water against cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity in rats using dynamic contrast-enhanced CT
“If too much hydrogen is taken in, the excess would be expired through the lungs. Thus, hydrogen-rich water has great potential for clinical use.”
Kitamura, A., Kobayashi, S., Matsushita, T., Fujinawa, H., & Murase, K. (2010). Experimental verification of protective effect of hydrogen-rich water against cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity in rats using dynamic contrast-enhanced CT. The British Journal of Radiology, 83(990), 509-514. doi: 10.1259/bjr/25604811
Hydrogen-rich water exerting a protective effect on ovarian reserve function in a mouse model of immune premature ovarian failure induced by zona pellucida 3
“Hydrogen has not been reported to be toxic at high doses, because excess hydrogen is expired via the lungs into the air.”
 Ma, Y., He, X., Wang, S., Yin, C., Wang, T., & Jia, C. (2016). Hydrogen-rich water exerting a protective effect on ovarian reserve function in a mouse model of immune premature ovarian failure induced by zona pellucida 3. Chinese Medical Journal, 129(9), 2331-2337. doi: 10.4103/0366-6999.190668
Estimation of the hydrogen concentration in rat tissue using an airtight tube following the administration of hydrogen via various routes
“Hydrogen has not been reported to be toxic at effective doses, and overdoses are unlikely, as excess hydrogen is expired via the lungs.”
Liu, C., Kurokawa, R., Fujino, M., Hirano, S., Sato, B., & Li, X. (2014). Estimation of the hydrogen concentration in rat tissue using an airtight tube following the administration of hydrogen via various routes. Scientific Reports, 4(5485), 1-7. doi: 10.1038/srep05485
Protective effect of hydrogen-rich saline on ischemia/reperfusion injury in rat skin flap
“H2 can reach relatively high concentrations quickly, and excessive H2 can be eliminated from the body via breathing, causing no side effects.”
Zhao, L., Wang, Y., Qin, S., Ma, X., Sun, X., Wang, M., & Zhong, R. (2013). Protective effect of hydrogen-rich saline on ischemia/reperfusion injury in rat skin flap. Journal of Zhejiang University Science B, 14(5), 382-391. doi: 10.1631/jzus.b1200317
Hydrogen-rich saline attenuates radiation-induced male germ cell loss in mice through reducing hydroxyl radicals
“Our recent studies suggest that H2 (hydrogen) has a potential as a novel radioprotector without known toxic side effects. Our results represent the first in vivo evidence in support of a radioprotective role of H2 by neutralizing •OH in irradiated tissue with no side effects.”
Chuai, Y., Gao, F., Li, B., Zhao, L., Qian, L., Cao, F., . . . Cai, J. (2012). Hydrogen-rich saline attenuates radiation-induced male germ cell loss in mice through reducing hydroxyl radicals. Biochemical Journal, 442(1), 49-56. doi: 10.1042/bj20111786
Hydrogen-rich water improves neurological functional recovery in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis mice
“Because Hydrogen rich water is non-toxic, inexpensive, easily administered, and can readily cross the blood-brain barrier, our experiments suggest that HRW may have great potential in the treatment of Multiple Sclerosis.”
Zhao, M., Liu, M., Pu, Y., Wang, D., Xie, Y., Xue, G., . . . Cao, L. (2016). Hydrogen-rich water improves neurological functional recovery in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis mice. Journal of Neuroimmunology, 294, 6-13. doi: 10.1016/j.jneuroim.2016.03.006
Hydrogen-rich water affected blood alkalinity in physically active men
“No volunteers withdrew before the end of the study, and no participant reported any vexatious side effects of h2 supplementation. These results support the hypothesis that HRW administration is safe and may have an alkalizing effect in young physically active men.”
Ostojic, S. M., & Stojanovic, M. D. (2014). Hydrogen-rich water affected blood alkalinity in physically active men. Research in Sports Medicine, 22(1), 49-60. doi: 10.1080/15438627.2013.852092
Hydrogen-rich saline as an innovative therapy for cataract: A hypothesis
“Hydrogen as a natural molecule could be a safe and effective antioxidant without known toxic effects.”
Qin, L., Tao, Y., Wang, L., Chen, H., Liu, Y., & Huang, Y. F. (2016). Hydrogen-rich saline as an innovative therapy for cataract: A hypothesis. Medical Science Monitor, 22, 3191-3195. doi: 10.12659/msm.899807
Recent progress toward hydrogen medicine: Potential of molecular hydrogen for preventative and therapeutic applications
“H2 has more advantages from the aspect of toxicity: H2 has no cytotoxicity even at high concentration.”
Ohta, S. (2011). Recent progress toward hydrogen medicine: Potential of molecular hydrogen for preventative and therapeutic applications. Current Pharmaceutical Design, 17(22), 2241-2252. doi: 10.2174/138161211797052664
Hydrogen therapy attenuates irradiation-induced lung damage by reducing oxidative stress
“This study thus demonstrated that H(2) treatment is valuable for protection against irradiation lung damage with no known toxicity.”
Terasaki, Y., Ohsawa, I., Terasaki, M., Takahashi, M., Kunugi, S., Dedong, K., . . . Fukuda, Y. (2011). Hydrogen therapy attenuates irradiation-induced lung damage by reducing oxidative stress. American Journal of Physiology: Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology, 301(4), 415-426. doi: 10.1152/ajplung.00008.2011
Hydrogen-rich saline attenuates steroid-associated femoral head necrosis through inhibition of oxidative stress in a rabbit model
“There were no mortalities at any time during the experiment, and no side effects of the hydrogen-rich saline on the overall well-being of the rabbits were observed in either group.”
Huang, S., Jiao, J., & Yan, H. (2015). Hydrogen-rich saline attenuates steroid-associated femoral head necrosis through inhibition of oxidative stress in a rabbit model. Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine, 11(1), 177-182. doi: 10.3892/etm.2015.2883
Intrathecal infusion of hydrogen-rich normal saline attenuates neuropathic pain via inhibition of activation of spinal astrocytes and microglia in rats
“HRS has the following advantages: easy to use, no side effects and no tolerance develops when given continuously, indicating that therapeutic use of HRS may be promising.”
Ge, Y., Wu, F., Sun, X., Xiang, Z., Yang, L., Huang, S., . . . Yu, W. (2014). Intrathecal infusion of hydrogen-rich normal saline attenuates neuropathic pain via inhibition of activation of spinal astrocytes and microglia in rats. PLOS ONE, 9(5), 1-12. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0097436
Hydrogen-rich water decreases serum LDL-cholesterol levels and improves HDL function in patients with potential metabolic syndrome
“We did not observe any unwanted side effects of H2, including headache, diarrhea, or vomiting. Our data give us a clue that H2 might have the potential to be used as a novel lipid-regulating agent with the advantage of no toxicity compared with other commonly used lipid-regulating drugs that have side-effects on the liver and kidney.”
Song, G., Li, M., Sang, H., Zhang, L., Li, X., Yao, S., . . . Qin, S. (2013). Hydrogen-rich water decreases serum LDL-cholesterol levels and improves HDL function in patients with potential metabolic syndrome. The Journal of Lipid Research, 54(7), 1884-1893. doi: 10.1194/jlr.m036640   Effects of hydrogen-rich water on depressive-like behavior in mice           “Identifying effective anti-depressive compounds with little to no side effects may serve as effective alternative or preventative treatments. It is unclear if hydrogen-rich water, which has no known side effects, may have beneficial effects in mitigating depression symptoms.”
Zhang, Y., Su, W., Chen, Y., Wu, T., Gong, H., Shen, X., . . . Jiang, C. (2016). Effects of hydrogen-rich water on depressive-like behavior in mice. Scientific Reports, 6, 1-7. doi: 10.1038/srep23742