Hydrogen-rich water reduces liver fat accumulation and improves liver enzyme profiles in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: a randomized controlled pilot trial.

Abstract

A double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial enrolled 12 overweight outpatients with mild-to-moderate non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD; mean age 56.2 years, BMI 37.7 kg/m²). Participants consumed either 1 L/day of hydrogen-rich water (HRW) or placebo water for 28 days. Dual-echo MRI assessment showed that HRW significantly reduced hepatic fat accumulation across individual liver regions-of-interest compared with placebo (P < 0.05). Liver fat content declined from 284.0 ± 118.1 mM to 256.5 ± 108.3 mM (2.9% reduction; 95% CI: 0.5–5.5). Serum aspartate transaminase levels fell by 10.0% (95% CI: −23.2 to 3.4). No significant between-group differences were detected for body weight or overall body composition. These preliminary findings suggest that HRW may have a beneficial role in modulating hepatic lipid accumulation and liver enzyme activity in NAFLD, warranting larger confirmatory trials.

Mechanism

Molecular hydrogen is proposed to improve lipid and glucose metabolism, thereby reducing hepatic fat deposition and lowering aspartate transaminase levels as a marker of hepatocellular stress.