关键词: 氢气, 氢化酶, 自由基, 线粒体复合物Ⅰ, 能量代谢

Abstract: Hydrogen have diverse biological functions. However, the mechanism of  hydrogen function has always been debated. It is widely accepted that hydrogen selectively reduces cytotoxic oxygen radicals. However, the evidence of direct reaction between hydrogen and free radicals under physiological conditions is not sufficient, most of which are indirect evidences. It is impossible to distinguish whether hydrogen reacts directly with free radicals or affects the production of free radicals. Hydrogen has antioxidant effect, but our research showed that it was not to eliminate the free radicals after they were generated, but to reduce the generation of free radicals. It was similar to turn off the "switch" at the beginning of the generation of free radicals. Hydrogen could improve the activity of biological enzymes including mitochondrial complex Ⅰ, acetylcholinesterase and HRP, and affected mitochondrial membrane potential and regulate the membrane potential of nerve cells. Some of the oxidoreductases and ion channels of cell membrane are regulated by hydrogen. Taken together, hydrogen has multi-targets with bio-enzyme basis and higher organisms have hydrogenase ativity to metabolize hydrogen. This paper mainly discussed the relationship between hydrogen and free radicals, and the enzyme basis of hydrogen is important for its biological function, which was expected to provide reference for research on the mechanism of how hydrogen function.

Key words: hydrogen, hydrogenase, free radical, mitochondrial complexⅠ, energy metabolism