Difference between Deep Seawater and Surface Seawater in the Preventive Effect of Atherosclerosis

Abstract

Seawater has been used for thalassotherapy and atopic dermatitis for a long time in medical treatment. However, there are still many obscure points in the scientific evidence about the effective of medical treatment.Deep seawater at depths between about 500 m and 1000 m circulates around the world. 1) Deep seawater is known to have such characteristics as being clean and rich in mineral components compared to surface seawater, [2][3][4] and application has been attempted in many fields. [5][6][7][8][9][10][11] In health food and medical fields, deep seawater has been processed into drinking water, and various beneficial effects have been suggested, but they have not been confirmed scientifically. In particular, differences between surface and deep seawater remain unqualified.We reported previously that deep seawater was effective for hyperlipidemia and atherosclerosis prevention. 12)In this study, we prepared drinking water samples containing the same amounts of major mineral constituents Na, K, Ca, and Mg, with hardness of 1200, by filtering with a semipermeable membrane using surface and deep seawater collected in the sea area of Muroto, Kochi Prefecture, known for the up-flow of deep seawater, and examined the effects of the drinking water samples on the prevention of a typical lifestyle-related disorder, hyperlipidemia and atherosclerosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS AnimalsMale Japanese white rabbits weighing 1.8 to 2.0 kg (Shimizu, Kyoto, Japan) were used in this study. These animals were acclimatized on a 12 h light/dark cycle in a humidity-and temperature-controlled facility and allowed free access to food and water for 1 week before the experiment.Deep and Surface Seawater Deep seawater pumped up from a depth of 374 m off Muroto Cape (Kochi, Japan) was separated into desalinated water and concentrated by a semipermeable membrane. Various concentrations of water (with sodium eliminated etc.) were added to the desalinated water, and deep seawaters were prepared. (hardness of about 1200; Muroto Marinefood Corporation, Odanikokufun Corporation) The surface seawater of the Muroto Cape ocean space was taken and same process was performed to prepare the drinking water (hardness of about 1200; Kochi Prefectural Deep seawater Laboratory).The mineral-ingredient content of each drinking seawater is shown in Table 1.Administration of Deep or Surface Seawater Cholesterol fed rabbits were divided into three groups and medicated with 150 ml/d of deep seawater, surface seawater and distilled water in a water-supply bottle ad libitum, and fed * To whom correspondence should be addressed. Murotomisaki-cho, Muroto, Kochi 781-7101, Japan: c Muroto Marinefood Corporation; 3507-5 Murotomisaki-cho, Muroto, Kochi 780-8123, Japan: and d Odanikokufun Corporation; 939-4 Takasu, Kochi, Kochi 780-8123, Japan. Received July 13, 2004; accepted September 9, 2004; published online September 10, 2004 Using surface and deep seawater collected in the sea area of Muroto Cape (Kochi, Japan), desalinated drinking samples of about 1200 hard...

Deep-Sea Water Improves Cardiovascular Hemodynamics in Kurosawa and Kusanagi-Hypercholesterolemic (KHC) Rabbits

“…9,23) Yoshikawa et al 3) demonstrated that deep-sea water inhibited the accumulation of lipid and permeation of macrophages in the arterial wall in rabbits fed 1% cholesterol for 4 weeks. Miyamura et al 4) also reported that among rabbits fed 1% cholesterol for 12 weeks, there was less LDL cholesterol in plasma and less cholesterol accumulated in the arterial wall in the deep-sea water group than in the control group. They proposed as a possible anti-atherosclerotic mechanism that the activity of glutathione peroxidase, an antioxidative enzyme, increased due to the administration of deep-sea water and that Ca and Mg suppressed the absorption of cholesterol in the small intestine.…”

“…Deepsea water improved mineral imbalances and atopic eczema/ dermatitis syndrome in humans 2) and was effective in the prevention of hyperlipidemia and atherosclerosis in cholesterol-fed rabbits. 3,4) We expect that the continuous intake of deep-sea water could prevent hypertension as well as hypercholesterolemia, because investigators have revealed that oral supplementation of calcium 5,6) or magnesium 7,8) to hypertensive patients lowered blood pressure in addition to reducing the serum total cholesterol level. 7) Hypercholesterolemia and hypertension occur due to genetic as well as dietary factors.…”

“…12) Ca and Mg in deep-sea water could suppress absorption of cholesterol in the small intestine in cholesterol-fed rabbits, which might contribute to anti-hypercholesterolemic action of deep-sea water. 3,4) Therefore, it is appropriate to use spontaneous hypercholesterolemic rabbits.…”

Effect of Minerals on Intestinal IgA Production Using Deep Sea Water Drinks

“…12) Pharmacological effects have been reported, such as improvement in cases of atopic dermatitis 13) and fatigue, 14,15) suppression of bowel diseases including duodenal ulcer, 16) and suppression of breast cancer metastasis. 17) Our group has also found that deep sea water is effective for improving dyslipidemia and arteriosclerosis, 18,19) which suggests deep sea water's utility as a stimulator of antioxidant system in the body. However, as there are many sources of deep sea water even in Japan alone, and commercially available deep sea waters differ in hardness and production methods, we consider it necessary to characterize their respective mineral compositions to distinguish the functionality of each type of water.…”

Comparison of Bacterial Diversity in the Water Columns of Goseong Deep Seawaters

“…해양심층수는 청정성과 양질의 미네 랄 함유 때문에 우리나라를 포함하여 미국, 일본, 노르웨이 등에 서 식품, 의료, 농업, 환경, 수산 분야에 사용하고 있으며, 표층수 와 심해의 온도차를 이용한 열에너지 자원으로도 개발되고 있다 (Joo, 2011;. 수심 350 m의 해양심층수는 동물의 blood LDL cholesterol 수치를 감소시키고, 혈액순환을 개선하 는데 효과가 있다고 보고되었다 (Miyamura et al, 2004;Katsuda et al, 2008).…”