Neutral pH hydrogen-enriched electrolyzed water achieves tumor-preferential clonal growth inhibition over normal cells and tumor invasion inhibition concurrently with intracellular oxidant repression.

The properties and effects of neutral pH hydrogen-enriched electrolyzed water (NHE water) on tumor cells were examined. NHE water diminished hydroxyl radicals as demonstrated by ESR in a cell-free system. Human tongue carcinoma cells HSC-4 were inhibited for either colony formation efficiencies or colony sizes by NHE water without significant inhibition to normal human tongue epithelial-like cells DOK. Furthermore, NHE water caused growth inhibition, cell degeneration, and inhibition of invasion through the reconstituted basement membrane to human fibrosarcoma cells HT-1080. Intracellular oxidants such as hydroperoxides and hydrogen peroxides were scavenged in HSC-4 or HT-1080 cells by NHE water. In the human oral cavity, a dissolved hydrogen concentrations (DH) of NHE water was drastically declined from 1.1 to 0.5 ppm, but settled to 0.3-0.4 ppm until 180 s, upon static holding without gargling. Thus, NHE water was shown to achieve tumor-preferential growth inhibition and tumor invasion together with scavenging of intracellular oxidants, and is expected as a preventive material against tumor progression and invasion.