Drinking Ozonated Tri-Distilled Water Increases Helicobacter Pylori Eradication and Promotes Healing of Duodenal Ulcer Lesions

Background

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a bacterium that infects the stomach lining and is a leading cause of gastritis and duodenal ulcers. Standard treatment usually combines a proton pump inhibitor with two antibiotics in what is known as triple therapy, but eradication rates have been falling in many parts of the world as antibiotic resistance increases. Researchers in China set out to test whether adding ozonated drinking water to standard triple therapy could improve outcomes for people with H. pylori infection.

Study design

The study was a randomised controlled trial involving 132 patients aged 21 to 65 who had confirmed H. pylori infection, made up of 72 men and 60 women. Participants were split into four groups of 33: two groups had chronic gastritis and two had duodenal ulcers. Within each condition, one group received standard esomeprazole-based triple therapy alone, while the other received the same standard therapy plus ozonated tri-distilled water, taken as 300 ml twice daily at a concentration of 5 parts per million. Treatment ran for two weeks, followed by four weeks of maintenance therapy. H. pylori status was assessed using a carbon-14 urea breath test, a rapid urease enzyme test, and histopathological examination of stomach tissue samples. Ulcer healing was assessed by gastroscopy.

Findings

Patients who drank ozonated tri-distilled water alongside standard therapy had higher H. pylori eradication rates than those on standard therapy alone: 97% versus 79% in the gastritis groups, and 94% versus 73% in the duodenal ulcer groups. Gastroscopy also showed a higher rate of duodenal ulcer healing in the combination-treatment group, at 88%, compared with 64% in the standard-therapy-only group.

What the authors concluded

The authors concluded that drinking ozonated tri-distilled water in combination with standard triple therapy substantially enhances H. pylori eradication and promotes healing of duodenal ulcer lesions, suggesting it may be a useful adjunct to conventional treatment for H. pylori-related gastritis and duodenal ulcers.

Limitations of this study

This was a single-centre trial with a modest sample size of 33 patients per group, which limits how confidently the results can be generalised to wider populations. The study does not appear to have been blinded, which can introduce bias into both patient-reported outcomes and endoscopic assessment. Longer-term follow-up would be needed to confirm whether eradication and healing are sustained over time, and independent replication in other populations and healthcare settings would strengthen confidence in these findings.