# 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.
> 水素水摂取が非アルコール性脂肪肝疾患患者の肝脂肪蓄積および肝酵素プロファイルに与える影響：無作為化対照パイロット試験


## 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.

## Bibliographic

- **Authors**: Korovljev D, Stajer V, Ostojic J, LeBaron TW, Ostojic SM
- **Journal**: Clin Res Hepatol Gastroenterol
- **Year**: 2019
- **PMID**: [30982748](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30982748/)
- **DOI**: [10.1016/j.clinre.2019.03.008](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clinre.2019.03.008)
- **Study type**: human randomized controlled trial
- **Delivery route**: hydrogen-rich water
- **Effect reported**: positive

## Delivery context

Hydrogen-rich water is a low-risk delivery route, but the achievable systemic hydrogen dose is bounded. For clinical applications, inhalation is the most efficient route; inhalation, however, carries explosion risk, and concentration matters (empirical LFL of 10% applies to inhalation environments; high-concentration devices are documented in the Consumer Affairs Agency accident database and are not recommended).

## Safety notes

Hydrogen-rich water is a low-risk delivery route, but the achievable systemic hydrogen dose is bounded. For clinical applications, inhalation is the most efficient route; inhalation, however, carries explosion risk, and concentration matters (empirical LFL of 10% applies to inhalation environments; high-concentration devices are documented in the Consumer Affairs Agency accident database and are not recommended).

See also:
- [Inhalation concentration and LFL / UFL](https://h2-papers.org/en/safety-notes/inhalation-concentration)
- [Consumer Affairs Agency accident cases](https://h2-papers.org/en/safety-notes/accident-cases)
- [Inhalation safety threshold lineage](https://h2-papers.org/en/safety-notes/lineage)

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> **Cite as**: H2 Papers — PMID 30982748. https://h2-papers.org/en/papers/30982748
> **Source**: PubMed PMID [30982748](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30982748/)