Acute effect of hydrogen-rich water on physical, perceptual and cardiac responses during aerobic and anaerobic exercises: a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded cross-over trial

Nidhal Jebabli; Nejmeddine Ouerghi; Wissal Abassi; Fatma Hilal Yagin; Mariem Khlifi; Manar Boujabli; Anissa Bouassida; Abderraouf Ben Abderrahman; Luca Paolo Ardigò

doi:10.3389/fphys.2023.1240871

Acute effect of hydrogen-rich water on physical, perceptual and cardiac responses during aerobic and anaerobic exercises: a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded cross-over trial

Front Physiol. 2023 Dec 14:14:1240871. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2023.1240871. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Research Unit: "Sport Sciences, Health and Movement", High Institute of Sport and Physical Education of Kef, University of Jendouba, Kef, Tunisia.
² Faculty of Medicine of Tunis, Rabta Hospital, University of Tunis El Manar, LR99ES11, Tunis, Tunisia.
³ High Institute of Sport and Physical Education of Gafsa, University of Gafsa, Gafsa, Tunisia.
⁴ Department of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, Inonu University Faculty of Medicine, Malatya, Türkiye.
⁵ Higher Institute of Sport and Physical Education of Ksar-Said, University of Manouba, Manouba, Tunisia.
⁶ Tunisian Research Laboratory "Sports Performance Optimization", National Center of Medicine and Science in Sports (CNMSS) LR09SEP01, Tunis, Tunisia.
⁷ Department of Teacher Education, NLA University College, Oslo, Norway.

Abstract

Molecular hydrogen (H2 gas) dissolved in water to produce Hydrogen-Rich Water. Hydrogen-Rich Water (HRW) is considered as ergogenic aid in different exercise modes. However, acute pre-exercise HRW ingestion effect is unclear regarding athlete performance. This study aimed at investigating acute effect of HRW ingestion on aerobic and anaerobic exercise performance. Twenty-two male amateur middle-distance runners volunteered to participate in this study. In a randomized, double-blind study design, all players ingested 500 mL of HRW or placebo (PLA) supplement 30 min before the start of the tests. Over 4 days, maximal aerobic speed of Vameval test (MAS), time to exhaustion at MAS (Tlim), squat jump (SJ), counter-movement jump (CMJ) and five jump test (5JT) were evaluated. Also, rate of perceived exertion (RPE) and peak heart rate (HRpeak) were measured during the aerobic tests. For Vameval test, HRW ingestion improved MAS, HRpeak and RPE compared with the placebo condition. For Tlim test, HRW ingestion demonstrated improvements in time to exhaustion, RPE and HRpeak. However, no significant change was observed between HW and placebo conditions in SJ, CMJ, 5JT. 500 mL of HRW can significantly improve HRpeak, time to exhaustion, RPE, with no significant effect on MAS, jumping performance in amateur endurance athletes.

Keywords: jumping tests; maximal aerobic speed; molecular hydrogen; pre-exercise ingestion; time to exhaustion.