Anti-Inflammatory and Bacteriostatic Effects of Hydrogen-Rich Water on Rats With Periodontitis
Bai Y, Zhao L, Wang L, Shan Y, Zhang W, Wen N. · Journal of Food Biochemistry. 2024:5917799.
What kind of evidence is this?
Preclinical
Randomized three-group rat periodontitis study
Oral and dental health
H₂-rich water
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Methods at a glance
Male Wistar rats with or without ligature- and Porphyromonas gingivalis-induced periodontitis.
21 rats randomized to normal control, periodontitis control or hydrogen-rich-water groups; n=7 per group.
7 days after the 8-week disease-induction period.
After an 8-week periodontitis model was established, the intervention group received hydrogen-rich water daily for 7 consecutive days. The article does not report the volume actually consumed.
H₂ dissolved in normal saline used as drinking water — H₂ only, not Brown's gas.
At least 1 ppm dissolved H₂ within 5 hours of preparation. The solution was prepared under 0.4 MPa H₂ for 6 hours and stored in a closed glass system; the article says fresh solution was prepared weekly but does not report H₂ concentration at each drinking time.
Not applicable — oral liquid, not gas inhalation.
No O₂ was co-delivered as part of the intervention.
Periodontitis rats and healthy controls receiving normal saline with standard feeding.
Outcomes and reported result
Probing depth, tooth mobility, sulcus bleeding, P. gingivalis colonies, histology and inflammatory cytokines in serum and gingival crevicular fluid.
Probing depth was 1.73±0.02 mm with hydrogen-rich water versus 2.26±0.03 mm in periodontitis controls. P. gingivalis colonies after intervention were 458±14 versus 601±32. Serum and crevicular TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 were lower and IL-10 higher than in periodontitis controls (reported p<0.05).
The complete free publisher article was checked for randomization, preparation, concentration, all groups, clinical indices, microbiology, histology, cytokines, 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
Seven rats per group, a short intervention, many endpoints and no reported blinding. Actual intake volume and H₂ concentration at consumption were not reported; weekly preparation is difficult to reconcile with the stated ≥1 ppm measurement only within 5 hours. Histology was not quantified by micro-CT. Authors reported no conflicts and self-funded the study.
Experimental periodontitis in rats only; it does not establish prevention or treatment efficacy in people.
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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
DOI: 10.1155/jfbc/5917799 · DOI: 10.1155/jfbc/5917799
Open-access full article from the journal publisher.
Journal of Food Biochemistry publisher full article; full-text extraction checked 8 August 2026.
2026-08-10