Acute effect of hydrogen-rich water on physical, perceptual and cardiac responses during aerobic and anaerobic exercises
Jebabli N et al. · Front Physiol. 2023;14:1240871.
Study at a glance
Human
Male amateur middle-distance runners
500 mL hydrogen-rich water consumed 30 minutes before exercise testing · The article reports hydrogen concentration maintained between 0.55 and 0.65 mmol; wording and unit retained as printed, without conversion.
Four testing days; acute pre-exercise exposure
The article reports improvements in maximal-aerobic-speed testing, time to exhaustion, perceived exertion and peak heart rate after H₂ water. Squat, countermovement and five-jump outcomes did not differ significantly.
Small male-only sample, multiple tests and outcomes, and unclear reporting of allocation concealment. The abstract is internally inconsistent about whether maximal aerobic speed changed.
What kind of evidence is this?
Human
Randomized double-blind placebo-controlled crossover trial
Exercise and recovery
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
Male amateur middle-distance runners
22 participants
Four testing days; acute pre-exercise exposure
500 mL hydrogen-rich water consumed 30 minutes before exercise testing
H₂ dissolved in water — H₂ only, not Brown’s gas.
The article reports hydrogen concentration maintained between 0.55 and 0.65 mmol; wording and unit retained as printed, without conversion.
500 mL placebo water
Outcomes and reported result
Maximal aerobic speed, time to exhaustion, squat jump, countermovement jump, five-jump test, perceived exertion and peak heart rate
The article reports improvements in maximal-aerobic-speed testing, time to exhaustion, perceived exertion and peak heart rate after H₂ water. Squat, countermovement and five-jump outcomes did not differ significantly.
Methods and principal results checked in the open-access full text. The abstract contains inconsistent wording about maximal aerobic speed, so the outcome table still requires an independent line-by-line check.
A reported association, difference or mechanism is not automatically a clinical benefit.
Limitations and applicability
Small male-only sample, multiple tests and outcomes, and unclear reporting of allocation concealment. The abstract is internally inconsistent about whether maximal aerobic speed changed.
Male amateur middle-distance runners under the reported acute testing conditions.
Cochrane RoB 2 crossover variant · aerobic and anaerobic exercise outcomes
Some concerns — reporting clarification required
The article reports randomization and double blinding, but allocation details and multiplicity are limited, and the abstract is internally inconsistent about maximal aerobic speed.
Some concerns — sequence generation and concealment are not sufficiently detailed. · Some concerns — double blinding is stated; adherence and carryover handling need verification. · Low to some concerns — 22 participants are reported, but complete flow requires structured review. · Mixed — several outcomes are objective, while perceived exertion is subjective. · Some concerns — multiple tests and outcomes plus inconsistent abstract wording; no linked prospective protocol identified.
No single-study GRADE certainty rating is assigned. Read how records and evidence assessments are prepared.
Sources and record status
PMID: 38162831 · DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2023.1240871
Open-access publisher and PMC full texts are available.
Open-access full text through Europe PMC/PMC and PubMed bibliographic record.
10 August 2026
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