水素水の長期摂取がラット精子前進運動率に与える影響：酸化ストレス抑制とCLDN3・SRD5A2発現上昇を介したメカニズムの検討
Twenty healthy male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided equally into a hydrogen-rich water (HRW) group receiving 1.2 ppm HRW at 2 ml/day intragastrically for 9 months and a saline control group. Epididymal sperm suspensions were analyzed for progressive motility, and testicular tissue was examined by HE staining and immunohistochemistry for Ki67, CYBB, eNOS, CLDN3, and SRD5A2. The HRW group showed a significantly higher percentage of progressively motile sperm (64.3 ± 4.7% vs 55.3 ± 9.5%, P < 0.05) and elevated Ki67 expression (P < 0.01). Oxidative stress marker CYBB was markedly reduced (P < 0.01), while eNOS was elevated (P < 0.01), and sperm maturation-related proteins CLDN3 and SRD5A2 were upregulated (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05, respectively). These findings indicate that molecular hydrogen modulates oxidative stress indicators and simultaneously promotes expression of molecules associated with sperm maturation and motility.
HRW consumption suppressed the oxidative stress marker CYBB while increasing eNOS activity and upregulating CLDN3 and SRD5A2, proteins associated with sperm maturation and motility, suggesting a dual mechanism involving redox regulation and promotion of spermatogenic development.
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).
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https://h2-papers.org/en/papers/37454313