我家年年艾饼香

民谚说：“清明插柳，端午插艾”。在端午节，除了洒扫庭院，以菖蒲、艾蒿插于门楣或悬于堂中驱邪防病之外，还可以用艾叶来做些什么呢？来看这位读者达人的高招。

Effect of moxibustion on expressions of HO-1 and MCP-3 protein in colon of rats with Crohn's disease

Objective： To observe the effect of moxibustion therapy on heme oxygenase-1（HO-1） and monocyte chemoattractant protein-3（MCP-3） protein expressions in the colonic mucosa of rats with Crohn＇s disease（CD）, and to explore the intestinal mucosal immune mechanism of moxibustion therapy in treating CD. Methods： The CD rat model was established using the internationally accepted Morris method. The rats were randomly divided into a model group, a herbal cake-partitioned moxibustion group, a mild moxibustion group, a cigarette moxibustion group and a hot compress group, which were compared with the normal group. Except the normal group and the model group, rats in the other groups accepted different moxibustion therapies on bilateral Tianshu（ST 25）. Hematoxylin-eosin（HE） staining was conducted and the pathological changes of the colon were observed under light microscope; the expressions of HO-1 and MCP-3 protein in rat＇s colonic mucosa were determined by immunohisto-chemistry. Results： Compared with the normal group, rats in the model group showed mucosal defect, villus destruction or loss, submucosal congestion and edema, glandular destruction or disappearance, reduced goblet cells, ulcer formation, significantly increased positive target area and positive target integral optical density of HO-1 and MCP-3 protein expression（all P〈0.01）. After treatment, compared with the model group, colonic mucosa was significantly improved in the herbal cake-partitioned moxibustion group and the mild moxibustion group, which mainly showed that the intestinal glands were arranged regularly, ulcer surfaces were covered by the neoformative epitheliums, or intestinal ulcers were replaced by the nascent granulation tissue, and submucosal edema was alleviated, with a small amount of inflammatory cell infiltration. The total areas and the integral optical densities of the positive targets for rat＇s colonic mucosa HO-1 and MCP-3 protein expressions were decreased（all P〈0.01）. Compared with the cigarette moxibustion group and the hot compress group, the total areas and the integral optical densities of the positive targets for rat＇s colonic mucosa HO-1 and MCP-3 protein expressions were significantly decreased（all P〈0.01） in the herbal cake-partitioned moxibustion group and the mild moxibustion group. Conclusion： Herbal cake-partitioned moxibustion and mild moxibustion can significantly improve the inflammatory response of colonic mucosa in CD rats. It can down-regulate the expressions of HO-1 and MCP-3 proteins in the colonic mucosa of CD rats, which may be one of the mechanism in intestinal mucosal immunity caused by moxibustion therapy.

Investigating the influence of moxibustion on colonic mucosal barrier in rats with dextran sulfate sodium-induced ulcerative colitis

Objective:To observe the effect of moxibustion on the colonic mucosal barrier of rats with ulcerative colitis(UC)induced by dextran sulfate sodium(DSS).Methods:Forty male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into a normal group and a modeling group,with 20 rats in each group.Rats in the modeling group were subjected to preparing experimental UC models by drinking 4%DSS for seven consecutive days.Two modeled rats and two normal rats were randomly selected for model identification.After the success of UC model was confirmed,the remaining 18 modeled rats were randomly divided into three groups,a model group,a model+herbal cake-partitioned moxibustion group,and a model+mild moxibustion group,with six rats in each group;the remaining normal rats were randomly divided into three groups,a normal group,a normal+herbal cake-partitioned moxibustion group,and a normal+mild moxibustion group,with six rats in each group.After 7 d of intervention with the herbal cake-partitioned moxibustion or the mild moxibustion,hematoxylin-eosin(HE)staining technique was used to observe the pathological changes of colon tissue under a light microscope;Western blotting and/or immunohistochemical techniques were used to detect the protein expression levels of Occludin,Claudin,junction adhesion molecular 1(JAM1),mucin 2(MUC2),and transforming growth factor beta1(TGF-β1)in rat colon tissue.Results:Compared with the normal group,the colon tissue was severely damaged,the pathological score was significantly increased,and the protein expression levels of Occludin,Claudin,JAM1,MUC2,and TGF-β1 were significantly decreased in the model group(P<0.01);while there were no significant differences in the colonic histopathological score,protein expression levels of Occludin,Claudin,JAM1,MUC2,and TGF-β1 in the normal+herbal cake-partitioned moxibustion group and the normal+mild moxibustion group(P>0.05).Compared with the model group,the model+herbal cake-partitioned moxibustion group and the model+mild moxibustion group showed repaired colon tissue,ulcer healing,significantly reduced pathological score,and significantly increased protein expression levels of JAM1,MUC2,and TGF-β1(P<0.05);the Occludin protein expression level in the colon tissue of the model+mild moxibustion group was increased(P<0.01).Conclusion:Neither herbal cake-partitioned moxibustion nor mild moxibustion influences the colonic histopathology and intestinal mucosal barrier-related protein expression in the normal rats;both herbal cake-partitioned moxibustion and mild moxibustion can up-regulate the protein expression levels of JAM1,MUC2,and TGF-β1 in the colon tissue of UC rats.Mild moxibustion can up-regulate Occludin protein expression.This may be a mechanism of moxibustion in reducing colonic mucosa inflammation in UC.