Effects of water stably-enriched with oxygen as a novel method of tissue oxygenation on mitochondrial function, and as adjuvant therapy for type 2 diabetes in a randomized placebo-controlled trial.

What Researchers Did

Researchers investigated the effects of oxygen-enriched water (ELO water) on arterial oxygen levels, mitochondrial function, and as a glucose-lowering therapy in rats, human cells, and adults with type 2 diabetes.

What They Found

In rats, ELO water significantly increased arterial oxygen tension to 335 ± 26 mmHg compared to 188 ± 18 mmHg with tap water (p = 0.006). In human HepG2 cells, high glucose (25 mM) significantly reduced mitochondrial mass and membrane potential when cultured in control water.

What This Means for Canadian Patients

If proven effective in larger human trials, oxygen-enriched water could offer a simple, non-invasive adjunctive therapy for managing type 2 diabetes by improving tissue oxygenation. This approach might help mitigate cellular hypoxia and mitochondrial dysfunction associated with the disease.

Canadian Relevance

This study has no direct Canadian connection as it was not conducted in Canada, nor did it involve Canadian researchers or participants.

Study Limitations

A key limitation is that the full results of the human randomized controlled trial are not provided in this abstract, and some findings are from animal and cell models.