深層水ミネラルと生体への効果

抄録

Deep Ocean Water(DOW)is sea water from at least 200m below the sea surface and has such characteristics as being clean and rich in mineral components compared to surface seawater. Recently, DOW has been considered for application in many fields(agriculture, fisheries, and health industries such as cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and nutrition). Here we studied the property of DOW and its effects on physiological functions. Since DOW has characteristic properties, we classified it as functional water and assessed its properties by measuring pH, electronic conductivity(EC), dissolved oxygen(DO), oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) and residual chloride. As for the effects of DOW on physiological functions, we discussed the relationship between DOW and reactive oxygen species(ROS), which have potentially deleterious effects on biological systems due to damage to proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids, and are generally considered to be toxic to living organisms. Since DOW is rich in mineral components(not only major minerals but also trace minerals), it is utilized as drinking water. We examined the effects of DOW on physiological functions of mice. Sera from mice orally given DOW showed increased superoxide scavenging activity. This result suggested that DOW may induce a biological substance to augment superoxide scavenging activity. Furthermore, we discussed the heat-retention effect of DOW in relation to energy metabolism.