Effects of hydrogen-rich water on depressive-like behavior in mice
Zhang Y et al. · Sci Rep. 2016;6:23742.
What kind of evidence is this?
Preclinical
Randomly allocated controlled chronic-unpredictable-mild-stress mouse experiment
Sleep and mood research
H₂-rich water
Not reported in this record.
Not reported in this record.
Methods at a glance
Mice exposed or not exposed to four weeks of chronic unpredictable mild stress
Behavioral cohorts included 10–11 mice per group; tissue assays commonly used n=5 per group
Four weeks
0.8 ppm hydrogen-rich drinking water; bottles were refilled with 30 mL twice daily and average intake was 4 mL/mouse/day
H₂ dissolved in drinking water — H₂ only, not Brown’s gas and not inhalation.
0.8 ppm dissolved H₂.
Not applicable — oral drinking water, not gas inhalation.
No O₂ was co-delivered as part of the intervention.
Stressed and non-stressed mice receiving ordinary water
Outcomes and reported result
Body weight, sucrose preference, tail-suspension behavior, IL-1β, caspase-1 activity and reactive oxygen species in brain regions
The article reports prevention of stress-associated behavioral changes and attenuation of IL-1β, caspase-1 and ROS changes. H₂ water did not significantly change the measured behaviors in non-stressed controls.
The complete open-access article was checked for bibliographic identity, allocation, concentration, intake, behavioral and molecular outcomes, 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
Mouse stress model with behavioral proxies, multiple brain assays and no human participants. It does not establish antidepressant efficacy in people.
Chronic-unpredictable-mild-stress model in mice, not major depressive disorder in humans.
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: 27026206 · DOI: 10.1038/srep23742
Open-access full text is available from Scientific Reports and PMC.
Open-access publisher/PMC full text and PubMed record.
2026-08-10