ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: This study assessed the antifungal effects of neutral electrolysis hydrogen water, an agent known for its oral anti-bacterial effects on the growth of C. albicans in vitro.METHODS: Hydrogen water, denture cleansing agent, and Listerine® were compared to a tap water control. We serially cultured C. albicans KCTC 27239 in SD media to analyze the inhibitory effect of each treatment on growth. We evaluated the data using repeated-measures ANOVA test and one-way ANOVA test, and a significant difference was defined as P < 0.05.RESULTS: Hydrogen water significantly inhibited the growth, but not the biofilm formation, of C. albicans compared to tap water control at 1-, 5-, and 10-minute time points (P < 0.05).CONCLUSIONS: The growth of C. albicans was slower in hydrogen water than in tap water, thereby suggesting an inhibitory effect of hydrogen water. Hydrogen water may, therefore, be utilized as an antibacterial and preventive agent without any harmful effect on denture and oral tissues.