艾灸对亚急性衰老小鼠—氧化氮的影响

Effect of Moxibustion on Serum Nitric Oxide Level in Subacute Senile Mice

目的 :通过测定亚急性衰老小鼠血清NO浓度、红细胞中SOD活力和血浆MDA的含量 ,进一步探讨NO与衰老的关系以及艾灸的延缓衰老作用。方法 :以D 半乳糖造成的亚急性衰老小鼠为实验对象 ,艾灸“大椎”、“命门”、“足三里”穴 ,治疗结束后测定NO浓度、SOD活力和MDA含量。结果 :模型组NO浓度与空白组比较明显下降 (P <0 0 5) ;各治疗组与模型组相比 ,NO浓度、SOD活力上升 ,MDA含量下降 ,具有显著性意义 (P <0 0 1 )。结论 :NO与衰老之间有一定的相关性 ,衰老时血清NO浓度降低 ;

Objective: To observe the effect of moxibustion on serum nitric oxide (NO) content in aging mice. Methods: A total of 50 Kunming mice were evenly randomized into control group, model group, 'Zusanli'(ST 36) group, 'Dazhui'(GB 14)-'Mingmen'(GV 4) group (DM-group) and 'Zusanli'-'Dazhui'-'Mingmen' (ZDM) group. Subacute aging mouse model was established by subcutaneous injection of 5% D-galactose (0.5 mL/20 g body weight), once daily and continuously for 42 days. Suspended moxibustion was applied to ST-36, GB-14 and GV-4 for 2 min every acupoint, once daily, with 5 days being a therapeutic course, continuously for 5 courses. After finishing the treatment, blood samples were taken by extracting the eyeball for determining the contents of nitric oxide (NO) and malondialdehyde (MDA) as well as red blood cell superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity.Results: In comparison with control group, NO content and SOD activity decreased and MDA content increased significantly in model group (P<0.05～0.01); while in three moxibustion group, serum NO levels and SOD activity raised considerably and MDA lowered remarkably (P<0.01). It suggests that moxibustion can effectively raise NO level and SOD activity and lower MDA content in aging mice. In addition, in model group, both thymic index and spleen index reduced significantly compared with those of control group (P<0.01); after moxibustion, these two indexes increased evidently, being close to those of normal control group. Histological examination showed that the thymus and spleen of model group presented an atrophic state but those of three moxibustion groups were close to normal. Conclusion: Moxibustion can promote the increase of serum NO level and SOD activity and reduce MDA level in aging mice, that may be responsible for moxibustion induced aging-delaying action.