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eCAM Advance Access published online on June 30, 2007
eCAM, doi:10.1093/ecam/nem068
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© 2007 The Author(s).
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/uk/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Acupuncture on the Blood Flow of Various Organs Measured Simultaneously by Colored Microspheres in Rats

Hiroyuki Tsuru1 and Kenji Kawakita2

1Department of Clinical Acupuncture and Moxibustion III, Meiji University of Oriental Medicine and 2Department of Physiology, Meiji University of Oriental Medicine, Hiyoshi-cho, Nantan – shi, Kyoto 629 - 0392, Japan

We examined how acupuncture affected the blood flow of muscle, kidney, stomach, small intestine, brain, lung, heart, spleen and liver. Wistar rats anesthetized with urethane (n = 27) were allocated into the control (n = 10), ST-7 (Hsia-Kuan, n = 10) and LI-4 (Hoku, n = 7) groups. To measure organ blood flow, colored microspheres (CMS) were injected through a catheter positioned in the left ventricle and blood samples were drawn from the femoral artery. Yellow CMS (3.6–4.2 x 105) and blue CMS (6.0–6.9 x 105) were injected at intervals of about 30 min. An acupuncture needle ({phi} 340 µm) was inserted into the left ST-7 point (left masseter muscle) or the right LI-4 point after the first sampling and left for about 30 min (10 twists at 1 Hz, 2-min intervals). The mean blood flow of nine organs varied widely from 4.03 to 0.20 (ml/min/g). Acupuncture to the ST-7 produced significant changes of the blood flow (percentage change from baseline) in the muscle, kidney, brain and heart (P < 0.05, versus control), but those of LI-4 were not significant. The blood flow of the left masseter muscle after acupuncture to ST-7 (left masseter muscle) tended to increase (P = 0.08). Changes in blood pressure during the experimental periods were almost similar among these three groups. Acupuncture stimulation increases the blood flow of several organs by modulating the central circulatory systems, and the effects differed with sites of stimulation.

Keywords: acupuncture – colored microsphere – organ blood flow – rat

For reprints and all correspondence: Hiroyuki Tsuru, Department of Clinical Acupuncture and Moxibustion III, Meiji University of Oriental Medicine Hiyoshi-cho, Nantan – shi, Kyoto 629 - 0392, Japan. E-mail: h_tsuru{at}meiji-u.ac.jp

Received September 22, 2006; accepted April 12, 2007


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