水素水摂取がマウスのうつ様行動に与える影響とその神経炎症・酸化ストレス抑制メカニズムの検討
Neuroinflammation and oxidative stress are recognized as key contributors to major depressive disorder. This animal study examined whether drinking hydrogen-rich water could alleviate depressive-like behavior in a chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) mouse model. After 4 weeks of hydrogen-rich water administration, CUMS-induced elevations of IL-1β protein in the hippocampus and cortex were markedly reduced. Overexpression of caspase-1, the enzyme responsible for IL-1β maturation, and excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex were also suppressed. These findings indicate that inflammasome activation and subsequent IL-1β and ROS overproduction may underlie CUMS-induced depressive phenotypes, and that hydrogen-rich water can counteract these pathological processes.
Hydrogen-rich water suppresses inflammasome activation, reducing caspase-1 overexpression and thereby lowering IL-1β maturation and excessive ROS production in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, which collectively attenuates depressive-like behavior.
Hydrogen-rich water is a low-risk delivery route, but the achievable systemic hydrogen dose is bounded. For clinical applications, inhalation is the most efficient route; inhalation, however, carries explosion risk, and concentration matters (empirical LFL of 10% applies to inhalation environments; high-concentration devices are documented in the Consumer Affairs Agency accident database and are not recommended).
See also:
https://h2-papers.org/en/papers/27026206