Effect of hydrogen-rich saline on intestine damage in scalded rats following delayed resuscitation

Objective: To investigate the effect and mechanism of hydrogen-rich saline on rat intestine damage after severe burn. Methods: Forty eight rats were divided into four groups: sham plus normal saline(S) group，burn injury plus normal saline(B + N) group，burn injury plus hydrogen-rich saline(B + H) group, and burn injury plus vitamin C(B + C) group. Each group contains 12 rats. Animals were subjected to full-thickness burn wound(30% total body surface area) using boiling water, except the rats in sham group which were treated with room-temperature water. Lactated ringer's solution was given at 6 h after injury according to Parkland formula. The rats in B + H group were received 5 ml /kg of hydrogen-rich saline, others in S and B + N groups were received the same amount of saline, and the rats in B + C group were treated with 9 ml /kg(250 mg /kg) of vitamin C in saline at 6，18，30，42 hour after scald respectively. The intestinal pathological changes at 24 and 48 h after scald was investigated. The changes of malondialdehyde，diamine oxidase, interleukin-1 and apoptosis rate of intestinal epithelial cells were determined. results: Compared with B + N group, in B + C and B + H groups, the intestinal pathological changes were significantly reduced，diamine oxidase activity was increased significantly(P ＜ 0. 01) ，and malondialdehyde, interleukin-1 levels and apoptosis rate of intestinal epithelial cells were significantly reduced(P ＜ 0. 01) . Conclusions: Hydrogen-rich saline can protect the small intestine against ischemia and reperfusion injury after severe burn, its mechanisms include relief of oxidative stress, inflammatory factor-mediated inflammatory response and inhibition of intestinal epithelial cell apoptosis.