Effect of hydrogen-rich water on oxidative stress, liver function, and viral load in patients with chronic hepatitis B
Xia C, Liu W, Zeng D, Zhu L, Sun X, Sun X. · Clinical and Translational Science. 2013;6(5):372–375.
Study at a glance
Human
Adults with chronic hepatitis B receiving routine treatment; a separate group of 30 healthy participants provided reference measurements.
Routine hepatitis-B treatment plus 1,200–1,800 mL/day of hydrogen-rich drinking water for six weeks. · Hydrogen-rich water was made with a metallic magnesium stick; the reported final dissolved-H₂ concentration was 0.55–0.65 mmol/L.
Six consecutive weeks. The Methods describe consumption three times daily, while the abstract says twice daily; the source does not reconcile this discrepancy.
Oxidative-stress markers improved more with hydrogen-rich water than with routine treatment alone. Liver-function measures and HBV DNA improved within both patient groups, but did not differ significantly between the randomized groups after treatment.
Short trial with major post-randomization attrition: 24 of 84 randomized participants were excluded from the final analysis. The article's abstract says 60 patients were randomized although the Results show 84 randomized and 60 analyzed, and twice-daily dosing in the abstract conflicts with three-times-daily dosing in Methods. Masking and allocation procedures are sparsely described. No dedicated funding or conflict-of-interest statement was identified in the checked article, so absence of funding or conflicts is not inferred.
What kind of evidence is this?
Human
Randomized controlled adjunctive-treatment study with healthy reference participants
Liver health
H₂-rich water
Information not yet classified
Some editorial classification fields are still pending. The source-reported outcomes and result are shown below; Hydrogenology does not infer a positive or negative signal from prose automatically.
Methods
Adults with chronic hepatitis B receiving routine treatment; a separate group of 30 healthy participants provided reference measurements.
185 patients were recruited, 101 met eligibility criteria and 84 were randomized to routine treatment n=41 or routine treatment plus hydrogen-rich water n=43. Only 30 participants in each randomized group were included in the final analysis.
Six consecutive weeks. The Methods describe consumption three times daily, while the abstract says twice daily; the source does not reconcile this discrepancy.
Routine hepatitis-B treatment plus 1,200–1,800 mL/day of hydrogen-rich drinking water for six weeks.
H₂ dissolved in drinking water — H₂ only, not Brown's gas.
Hydrogen-rich water was made with a metallic magnesium stick; the reported final dissolved-H₂ concentration was 0.55–0.65 mmol/L.
Routine hepatitis-B treatment without added hydrogen-rich water; the healthy group was a non-randomized reference group.
Outcomes and reported result
Serum superoxide dismutase, glutathione S-transferase, xanthine oxidase and malondialdehyde, liver-function tests and HBV DNA.
Oxidative-stress markers improved more with hydrogen-rich water than with routine treatment alone. Liver-function measures and HBV DNA improved within both patient groups, but did not differ significantly between the randomized groups after treatment.
The complete open-access article, recruitment and attrition, randomization, water preparation, concentration and volume, positive and null results and reporting inconsistencies were checked.
A reported association, difference or mechanism is not automatically a clinical benefit.
Limitations and applicability
Short trial with major post-randomization attrition: 24 of 84 randomized participants were excluded from the final analysis. The article's abstract says 60 patients were randomized although the Results show 84 randomized and 60 analyzed, and twice-daily dosing in the abstract conflicts with three-times-daily dosing in Methods. Masking and allocation procedures are sparsely described. No dedicated funding or conflict-of-interest statement was identified in the checked article, so absence of funding or conflicts is not inferred.
Adults with chronic hepatitis B receiving the study's routine background treatment; the trial did not show an added liver-function or viral-load benefit.
No single-study GRADE certainty rating is assigned. Read how records and evidence assessments are prepared.
Sources and record status
PMID: 24127924 · DOI: 10.1111/cts.12076
Open-access PubMed Central article.
Complete PubMed Central article and PubMed metadata; full-text extraction checked 9 August 2026.
10 August 2026
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