非アルコール性脂肪肝疾患患者における水素水摂取の生物学的効果：無作為化プラセボ対照試験
A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial enrolled 30 individuals with NAFLD who consumed hydrogen-rich water (HRW) for 8 weeks. Non-significant favorable trends were observed in body weight reduction (approximately 1 kg) and BMI in the HRW group. Liver enzyme levels remained stable, while lipid profiles and lactate dehydrogenase showed improvement trends. Markers of inflammation and cellular stress—including NF-κB, heat shock protein 70, and matrix metalloproteinase-9—tended to decrease without reaching statistical significance. Notably, mild non-significant increases in 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine and malondialdehyde were detected in the HRW group, which the authors interpret as potentially reflecting a hormetic response to molecular hydrogen preceding more pronounced clinical benefits seen in longer-duration studies. Overall, HRW was well-tolerated, and the observed trends support further investigation in extended trials.
Hydrogen-rich water may exert selective antioxidant effects, suppressing inflammatory and cellular stress mediators such as NF-κB, HSP70, and MMP-9. A mild transient rise in oxidative markers (8-OHdG, MDA) was interpreted as a potential hormetic response, possibly preceding longer-term adaptive antioxidant benefits.
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).
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https://h2-papers.org/en/papers/36290657