A randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial of hydrogen/oxygen inhalation for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
Tao G et al. · J Cell Mol Med. 2022;26(14):4113–4123.
Study at a glance
Human
Adults aged 30–70 with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
Mixed gas by inhalation at 3,000 mL/min for 1 hour daily · 66% H₂ + 33% O₂ by volume as reported; the remaining 1% is not specified.
13 weeks
Several lipid and liver-enzyme measures improved. In moderate-to-severe subgroups, imaging changes favored H₂–O₂; the complete sample was small and subgroup analyses were emphasized.
Nineteen of 62 randomized participants did not complete the study, the analyzed sample was 43, and imaging claims emphasize small severity subgroups. Asclepius Meditec provided generators; authors declared no conflicts and public grants funded the work.
What kind of evidence is this?
Human
Randomized placebo-controlled parallel trial with additional animal and cell experiments
Liver health
Inhaled H₂
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 aged 30–70 with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
62 randomized; 43 completed: H₂–O₂ n=21 and placebo n=22
13 weeks
Mixed gas by inhalation at 3,000 mL/min for 1 hour daily
Brown’s gas / oxyhydrogen — H₂ and O₂ co-delivered, not H₂ alone.
66% H₂ + 33% O₂ by volume as reported; the remaining 1% is not specified.
1,980 mL/min H₂, calculated as 3,000 mL/min total mixed-gas flow × 66% H₂.
990 mL/min O₂, calculated as 3,000 mL/min × 33% O₂.
Normal air containing 78.1% N₂ and 20.9% O₂ at 3,000 mL/min
Outcomes and reported result
Liver enzymes, lipids, ultrasound and CT liver-fat measures, oxidative and inflammatory markers
Several lipid and liver-enzyme measures improved. In moderate-to-severe subgroups, imaging changes favored H₂–O₂; the complete sample was small and subgroup analyses were emphasized.
Human intervention, gas composition, flow, outcome tables, funding and conflicts checked in the open-access full text; independent appraisal remains incomplete.
A reported association, difference or mechanism is not automatically a clinical benefit.
Limitations and applicability
Nineteen of 62 randomized participants did not complete the study, the analyzed sample was 43, and imaging claims emphasize small severity subgroups. Asclepius Meditec provided generators; authors declared no conflicts and public grants funded the work.
Adults with NAFLD meeting the study criteria; the animal and cell experiments do not add independent human participants.
No single-study GRADE certainty rating is assigned. Read how records and evidence assessments are prepared.
Sources and record status
PMID: 35734974 · DOI: 10.1111/jcmm.17456
Open-access full text is available through PMC and the publisher.
Open-access PMC and publisher full texts plus PubMed bibliographic record.
10 August 2026
Help people check the facts before they buy.
Hydrogenology keeps 665 source-checked records accessible without advertising or product promotion.
Help us correct the recordReport a discrepancy
Send the exact difference between this page and the linked source. The study reference is attached automatically.