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The protective effect of hydrogen-rich water on rats with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry volume 476, pages 3089–3097 (2021)Cite this article

Abstract

The hydrogen-rich water (HW) has been reported to possess a beneficial role in patients with diabetes. However, a systemic evaluation with an appropriate animal model is necessary to reveal its mechanisms and efficacy. Herein, the protective effects of drinking HW on lipid and glucose metabolism, oxidative stress, and inflammation in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) rats were investigated. The well-modeled T2DM rats (induced by high-fat diet combined with low-dose streptozotocin (STZ) injection) were divided into two groups (n ≥ 15 of each): fed a high-fat diet and drinking distilled water or HW at a constant concentration above 1.0 ppm; normal rats were used as control group (n ≥ 10): fed a regular diet and drinking distilled water. Several biomarkers of lipid and glucose metabolism, oxidative stress ,and inflammation were evaluated after drinking distilled water or HW for 3 weeks. The effect of HW on liver, kidney, and spleen of T2DM rats was also analyzed by HE and Oil Red O staining. The results showed that drinking HW suppressed the increase in glucose, total cholesterol, oxidative stress, and inflammation. Moreover, HW also ameliorates hyperglycemia-induced liver, kidney, and spleen dysfunction. Overall, this study indicates that patients with T2DM may be able to improve their condition by supplementing HW as daily drinking water.

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Data Availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding authors upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This was supported by grants from International Cooperation Project by Science and Technology Department of Sichuan Province [No. 2019YFH0103], National Natural Science Foundation of China [No. 31800795], Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities [No. 2682019CX72], and Sichuan Science and Technology Program [No. 2021JDRC0160].

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Affiliations

  1. School of Life Science and Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, 610031, China

    Mengna Zheng & Lei Lu

  2. Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials of the Education Ministry, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, 610031, China

    Mengna Zheng, Han Yu, Yong Xue, Tong Yang, Qiufen Tu, Kaiqing Xiong, Daihua Deng, Lei Lu & Nan Huang

  3. School of Mechanical Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, 610031, China

    Yong Xue

Authors
  1. Mengna Zheng
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  2. Han Yu
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  3. Yong Xue
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  4. Tong Yang
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  8. Lei Lu
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  9. Nan Huang
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Contributions

Conceptualization: MZ, LL, and NH; Methodology: MZ, HY, YX, TY, DD, QT, and KX; Formal analysis and investigation: MZ, LL, and KX; Writing—original draft preparation MZ and LL; Writing—review and editing LL and NH; Funding acquisition: NH, LL, and QT; Resources: NH, QT, and LL; Supervision: NH and LL.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Lei Lu or Nan Huang.

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The authors report no conflict of interest.

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This study was approved by the Southwest Jiaotong University Ethics Committee. Animals were treated in accordance the National Institutes of Health Guidelines for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals.

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Zheng, M., Yu, H., Xue, Y. et al. The protective effect of hydrogen-rich water on rats with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Mol Cell Biochem 476, 3089–3097 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11010-021-04145-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11010-021-04145-x

Keywords

  • T2DM
  • Lipid and glucose metabolism
  • Oxidative stress
  • Inflammation
  • Hydrogen-rich water