The drinking effect of hydrogen water on atopic dermatitis induced by Dermatophagoides farinae allergen in NC/Nga mice
Ignacio RMC, Kwak HS, Yun YU, Sajo MEJV, Yoon YS, Kim CS, Kim SK, Lee KJ. · Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 2013;2013:538673.
What kind of evidence is this?
Preclinical
Randomized two-group mouse allergen-induced atopic-dermatitis cytokine experiment
Skin, wound and aging research
H₂-rich water
Not reported in this record.
Not reported in this record.
Methods at a glance
NC/Nga mice with Dermatophagoides-farinae extract applied twice weekly for three weeks.
24 mice randomized to purified water n=12 or H₂ water n=12.
25 days of water exposure; allergen twice weekly for three weeks.
Ad-libitum electrolyzed H₂ water through day 25, followed by sacrifice on day 26.
H₂ dissolved in drinking water — H₂ only, not Brown's gas and not inhalation.
Dissolved H₂ 0.50±0.02 ppm, pH 7.30±0.02 and oxidation-reduction potential −510±6 mV; intake volume and generator flow were not reported.
Not applicable — drinking water; electrolyzer gas flow was not reported.
No O₂ was co-delivered as part of the intervention.
Reverse-osmosis/ultrafiltered purified drinking water with the same allergen protocol.
Outcomes and reported result
Serum TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-10, IL-12p70 and GM-CSF.
IL-10, TNF-α, IL-12p70 and GM-CSF were lower with H₂ water. IL-2 and IL-4 did not differ, and IL-5 and IFN-γ were undetectable. The experiment did not report a validated dermatitis-severity or skin-barrier outcome.
The complete free PMC article and cytokine figure were checked for randomization, group size, water chemistry, duration, positive, null and undetectable results, funding and conflicts.
A reported association, difference or mechanism is not automatically a clinical benefit. Null findings, outcome type, study design and precision all matter.
Cautions and applicability
Small mouse study, cytokine-only interpretation, no skin score/barrier outcome, multiple cytokines and possible water-property effects beyond dissolved H₂. A Yonsei University grant funded the work; authors declared no conflicts, one author was Samsung-affiliated and the electrolyzer was manufactured by Samsung.
Allergen-induced immune changes in mice; it does not establish treatment of human atopic dermatitis.
Not reported in this record.
Not reported in this record.
Not reported in this record.
No single-study GRADE certainty rating is assigned. Certainty is assessed by important outcome across a complete eligible evidence set, not by attaching a final grade to one source.
Sources and record status
PMID: 24348704 · DOI: 10.1155/2013/538673
Free full article in PubMed Central.
Complete PMC article and PubMed metadata; full-text extraction checked 9 August 2026.
2026-08-10