Yahagi NKono MKitahara MOhmura ASumita OHashimoto THori KNing-Juan CWoodson P,Kubota SMurakami ATakamoto S.

Department of Anesthesiology, Teikyo University Mizonokuchi Hospital, Tokyo, Japan. naokiyah@aol.com

Electrolyzed water accelerated the healing of full-thickness cutaneous wounds in rats, but only anode chamber water (acid pH or neutralized) was effective. Hypochlorous acid (HOCl), also produced by electrolysis, was ineffective, suggesting that these types of electrolyzed water enhance wound healing by a mechanism unrelated to the well-known antibacterial action of HOCl. One possibility is that reactive oxygen species, shown to be electron spin resonance spectra present in anode chamber water, might trigger early wound healing through fibroblast migration and proliferation.