Pharmacological Activity of Deep-Sea Water: Examination of Hyperlipemia Prevention and Medical Treatment Effect

Abstract

In recent years, deep-sea water has been applied not only in food production but in industry and the medical field in an attempt to utilize its properties, 1) its wealth of inorganic materials, its purity and mineral content, which have attracted attention.2) In particular, various minerals in their characteristic dissolved states, including indispensable trace elements abundant in deep-sea water have demonstrated their usefulness and attracted attention in each field, and various applications have been tried. 3)A major problem of insufficient minerals caused by the recent westernization of lifestyles and eating habits, has resulted in so-called lifestyle-related illnesses such as hyperlipemia, hypertension, and diabetes. 4) In order to prevent or treat these illnesses, it is important to adjust disorders in body functioning. However, although deep-sea water contains minerals used in the treatment of lifestyle-related illness and the production of health food, there is no scientific proof of its usefulness.To examine the lifestyle-related illness, hyperlipemia, in which eating habit disorders are considered to particularly influence the development of symptoms, we medicated normal rabbits with deep-sea water (desalinated water, hardness 28, 300, and 1200) simultaneously with cholesterol loading, and examined its preventive effect on hyperlipemia. Furthermore, prepared hyperlipemia rabbits 5) carrying the same cholesterol load as normal rabbits, were administered deep-sea water, and its medical treatment effect on hyperlipemia was examined. MATERIALS AND METHODS AnimalsMale Japanese white rabbits weighing 1.8 to 2.0 kg (Shimizu, Kyoto, Japan) were used in this study. These animals were maintained on a 12 h light/dark cycle in a humidity-and temperature-controlled facility and allowed free access to food and water for 1 week during acclimatization before the experiment.Deep-Sea Water Deep-sea water pumped up from a depth of 374 m off Muroto Cape (Kochi, Japan) was desalinated and concentrated by reverse osmosis. Various concentrations of water with eliminated sodium etc. were added to the desalinated water and deep-sea water samples of varying hardness (28, 300, 1200) were prepared. The mineral ingredient content of each deep-sea water sample is shown in Table 1.Administration of Deep-Sea Water Normal rabbits were divided into four groups and administered 150 ml/d of deep-sea water (desalinated water, hardness 28, 300, and 1200) in a water supply bottle ad libitum, and fed normal food (CR-3, Clea, Osaka, Japan) for 4 weeks ( Table 2). It was confirmed that the rabbits consumed the water each time.Cholesterol-loaded rabbits were similarly divided into four groups and were each administered deep-sea water, and fed a 1% cholesterol-containing diet (CE-2, Clea, Osaka, Japan) for 4 weeks ( Table 2).Hyperlipemia rabbits fed a 1% cholesterol diet for 4 weeks and with a raised total cholesterol (T-Cho) level before this experiment, were similarly divided into four groups, admin- * To whom correspondence should be addresse...

Deep-Sea Water Improves Cardiovascular Hemodynamics in Kurosawa and Kusanagi-Hypercholesterolemic (KHC) Rabbits

“…The age-related change in the serum cholesterol level would be due to a similar mechanism because both the KHC and WHHL rabbit strains are a LDL-receptor-deficient animal model. 9,23) Yoshikawa et al 3) demonstrated that deep-sea water inhibited the accumulation of lipid and permeation of macrophages in the arterial wall in rabbits fed 1% cholesterol for 4 weeks. Miyamura et al 4) also reported that among rabbits fed 1% cholesterol for 12 weeks, there was less LDL cholesterol in plasma and less cholesterol accumulated in the arterial wall in the deep-sea water group than in the control group.…”

“…Deepsea water improved mineral imbalances and atopic eczema/ dermatitis syndrome in humans 2) and was effective in the prevention of hyperlipidemia and atherosclerosis in cholesterol-fed rabbits. 3,4) We expect that the continuous intake of deep-sea water could prevent hypertension as well as hypercholesterolemia, because investigators have revealed that oral supplementation of calcium 5,6) or magnesium 7,8) to hypertensive patients lowered blood pressure in addition to reducing the serum total cholesterol level. 7) Hypercholesterolemia and hypertension occur due to genetic as well as dietary factors.…”

“…12) Ca and Mg in deep-sea water could suppress absorption of cholesterol in the small intestine in cholesterol-fed rabbits, which might contribute to anti-hypercholesterolemic action of deep-sea water. 3,4) Therefore, it is appropriate to use spontaneous hypercholesterolemic rabbits.…”

Difference between Deep Seawater and Surface Seawater in the Preventive Effect of Atherosclerosis

“…0.25% cholesterol containing diet (CE-2, Clea, Osaka, Japan) for 12 weeks. [12][13][14] The distilled water administration group was used as the control. Body weight was measured weekly.…”

“…12) In this study, we prepared drinking water samples containing the same amounts of major mineral constituents Na, K, Ca, and Mg, with hardness of 1200, by filtering with a semipermeable membrane using surface and deep seawater collected in the sea area of Muroto, Kochi Prefecture, known for the up-flow of deep seawater, and examined the effects of the drinking water samples on the prevention of a typical lifestyle-related disorder, hyperlipidemia and atherosclerosis.…”