Long-Term Consumption of Hydrogen-Rich Water Mitigates Oxidative Stress, Hepatic Inflammation, and Apoptosis in Rats with LPS-Induced Chronic Liver Injury

<b>(1) Background</b>: Chronic inflammation is considered an important pathological basis underlying the development and progression of multiple metabolic liver diseases; although hydrogen-rich water (HRW) has shown beneficial effects in acute inflammation, its long-term impact on chronic hepatic inflammation remains unclear. <b>(2) Methods</b>: Sprague-Dawley rats were pretreated with HRW for 8 months, after which a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced rat model of chronic hepatic inflammation was established, with continuous HRW administration throughout the experimental period. <b>(3) Results</b>: Long-term HRW consumption significantly reduced LPS-induced inflammatory cell infiltration in liver tissue, suppressed the abnormal elevation of pro-inflammatory factors, and maintained relatively stable expression levels of anti-inflammatory factors. In addition, HRW attenuated pro-apoptotic signaling associated with the death receptor pathway, mitochondrial pathway, and endoplasmic reticulum stress (including Bax, Cyt c, Caspase-3, Caspase-8, Caspase-9, Caspase-12, CHOP, and GRP78), while preserving the expression of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2, thereby partially preventing the tendency toward hepatocyte apoptosis induced by chronic inflammation. <b>(4) Conclusions</b>: Long-term consumption of HRW may delay the onset and progression of chronic inflammation-related liver injury by alleviating inflammatory responses, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and apoptotic activity, thus exerting a preventive protective effect on the liver.