Hydrogen-rich water protects against acetaminophen-induced hepatotoxicity in mice
Zhang JY et al. · World J Gastroenterol. 2015;21(14):4195–4209.
What kind of evidence is this?
Preclinical
Randomized mouse lethal- and sublethal-acetaminophen experiments
Liver health
H₂-rich water
Not reported in this record.
Not reported in this record.
Methods at a glance
Male C57BL/6 mice given intraperitoneal acetaminophen
Survival experiment: control groups n=5 and acetaminophen groups n=15; sublethal outcome groups commonly n=6
Twice daily for three days; survival followed for five days and tissue outcomes at 24, 48 and 72 hours
Hydrogen-rich water 5 mL/kg injected intraperitoneally twice daily for three days after acetaminophen
H₂ dissolved in water and injected intraperitoneally — H₂ only, not Brown’s gas, not inhalation and not oral drinking.
0.83–0.91 mmol/L dissolved H₂; 5 mL/kg at 08:00 and 17:00.
Not applicable — injected H₂-rich water, not gas inhalation.
No O₂ was co-delivered as part of the H₂ intervention.
Equal-volume normal saline, with and without acetaminophen
Outcomes and reported result
Survival, liver enzymes and histology, oxidative and inflammatory markers, organelles, JNK, connexin-32, CYP2E1 and hepatocyte proliferation
The article reports 60% versus 26.67% five-day survival after lethal acetaminophen and lower injury, oxidative and inflammatory measures with H₂-rich water, alongside proliferation markers.
Concentration, dose, injection route, allocation, schedule and principal numerical outcomes checked in the open-access full text.
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
Despite the title, the H₂-rich water was injected intraperitoneally, not drunk. This is a mouse toxicology model with multiple outcomes.
Acetaminophen hepatotoxicity in mice, not overdose treatment in people.
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: 25892869 · DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v21.i14.4195
Open-access full text is available through PMC and the publisher.
Open-access PMC article and PubMed record; no retraction or expression of concern was shown in the checked records on 7 August 2026.
2026-08-10