The American Journal of Chinese Medicine

In order to test for an effect of phosphate buffered saline (PBS) treated externally with Qi energy ("Qi-treated" PBS) on the phagocytic activity of human polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs), rigorously controlled experiments employing masking and randomized procedures were carried out under independent monitoring. In all experiments, Qi treatment was externally applied under monitoring to newly purchased unopened 100 ml bottles of PBS, and the PMN phagocytic activity was sayed by one experimenter in masked, randomized and monitored conditions using a highly sensitive chemiluminescence method. Phagocytic activity data were obtained in triplicate for each sample and then statistically analyzed. The PBS samples Qi-treated by the Qi-gong master and by one of the Qi-gong trainees showed clear stimulation of PMN phagocytic activity which was significant statistically, and this phenomenon was highly reproducible. Out of 10 experiments by the Qi-gong master, only twice did Qi-treatment fail to influence the PBS. The activity of Qi-treated PBS decayed over days or weeks. Furthermore, it was found the Qi-treated PBS had decreased phagocytic stimulatory activity after microware treatment, but not after autoclave treatment. We also demonstrated that microwae irradiation and infrared laser pulse irradiation have similar effects on PBS as Qi- treatment. The results obtained in this experiment provide evidence of the existence of Qi energy, its ability to influence an electrolyte solution and its biological effect. Furthermore, microwave or infrared laser pulse treatment was found to partly mimic the Qi-treatment of PBS.

The present study investigated the effects of Korean Qi-therapy, ChunSoo Energy Healing, on natural killer (NK) cell cytotoxicity in vitro depending on Qi-treatment time and the types of cells treated. NK cell cytotoxicity was assayed by measuring LDH release from tumor target cells (K562 cell lines). NK activity was significantly increased by emitted-Qi treatment of 30 sec duration. Three and 5 minutes of Qi projection created the greatest increase in NK cell activity when mixtures of NK cells and K562 cells were treated (1.81 and 2.12 fold for 4 hr culture; 1.54 and 1.36 for 16 hr culture, respectively). NK cell activity increased significantly in Qi-treated K562 cells alone (1.13 fold, p < 0.05) compared to control. These results are consistent with in vivo Qi-therapy on humans and suggests that emitted-Qi has an acute stimulatory effect on NK cell activity. This study provides direct scientific support that Qi as such may positively affect human cellular immunity.

We have evaluated the effect of 'Brain Respiration training on brain activity' using Karhunen-Loeve (KL) decomposition as a method for spatio-temporal analysis of the electroencepha logram (EEG). BR training is a form of breath-work to optimize the function of the brain by concentrating Qi energy in the brain. Recently, BR-training has been reported to improve emotional maturity (i.e., EQ), short-term memory and intuition (Yoo et al., 1998). EEG data were taken during BR-training from 12 young BR-trainees (average age: 9.4 years) who had trained fro 4 to 14 months, and during relaxation from age matched non-trained children. Spatio-temporal analysis showed a significant difference of EEG dynamics in right prefrontal, right inferior frontal, posterior temporal, parietal and occipital areas between BR-trainees and the control group. Amplitude of eigenvector components of BR-trainees in the areas of frontal, temporal and occipital cortex was larger than that of non-trained children (values were smaller in parietal cortex), with remarkably high amplitude alpha coherence all over the scalp. These results suggest that BR-taining possibly activates brain function through changes in the activity of the frontal association area where higher mental integration and creative activities are mediated.

Breech presentation was successfully corrected by stimulating acupuncture points with moxibustion or low-frequency electrical current. Only patients with breech pregnancies at the 28th week or later were entered into the study. With moxibustion treatment, the control group had a spontaneous correction rate of 165/224 (73.66%), and the treatment group had a correction rate of 123/133 (92.48%) (P < 0.0001, x² test). With low-frequency percutaneous electrical stimulation, the correction rate was 20/941 (83.87%) in the control group and 171/191 (89.52%) in the treatment group (P = 0.094, x² test). The control is the moxibustion study did no exercises and received no external manipulation to correct breech presentation whereas those in the electrical stimulation study experienced both. Acupuncture stimulation, especially with moxibustion, is expected to serve as a safe and effective modality in the management of breech presentation in a clinical setting.

This study determined the cardiovascular responses to a 10-minute back rub. Twelve healthy, college-age males and females (mean age = 22 years) volunteered to participate as subjects. Using an ABA design, the subjects tested for 10 minutes (Control #1) on a padded plinth lying on one side. During the Treatment period, the back rub was administered, which was followed by Control #2. Oxygen consumption (VO₂) was determined via the Medical Graphics CPX/D metabolic analyzer, which also estimated cardiac output (Q) using the CO₂ rebreathing (equilibrium) method. A repreated measures ANOVA was performed to statistically compare the cardiovascular responses across the three periods. The back rub, when compared to Control #1, had no significant effect on VO₂, but the central and peripheral components of VO₂ were changed. Cardiac output was decreased as a result of the decreased stroke volume (SV), as a function of the increased peripheral vascular resistance (PVR). We also found an increase in the extraction of oxygen (a-vO₂ diff) in the peripheral tissues. These results indicate that the VO₂ response during the back rub was achieved by reciprocal central (SV,Q) and peripheral (a-vO₂ diff) adjustemtns. Following the back rub, (i.e., Control #2 vs. Treatment), the decrease in VO₂, VCO₂, Ve, and a-vO₂ diff appears to indicate that it was effective in inducing relaxation. Since HR, SV, and Q were unchanged, the VO₂ response was result of the decreased a-vO₂ diff. Hence, the findings certain positive implications for the health care industry.

In successive studies of the pscyhosomatic functioning of ill-health according to Oriental and Western medicine in medical students, we established the existence of the psychosomatic characteristics we have provisionally terned the anxiety-affinitive constitution at the core of ill-health. Therefore, we conducted this research because our pervious investigation showed this constitution included a high complexity of respiratory movement and eye movement with a significant correlation to the State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). We examined the correlation between the STAI and somatic function of 88 medical students to identify the psychosomatic characteristics of anxiety and the anxiety-affinitive constitution. These tests included STAI, fractal (EEG, EOG, plethysmogram, respiratory curves, and EMG) and non-fractal (accelerated plethysmogram) dimension analyses, and malocclusion (based on Angle's classification). In particular, EOG, plethysmogram, and respiratory curves are known to have close association with trait anxiety. We were able to discover the correlation between (1) trait anxiety and thoracic and abdominal respiratory movements, and malocculusion (Class III), and (2) the correlation of state anxiety with thoracic respiratory movement, horizontal eye movement, a plethysmogram and an EEG-Pz (in males only). In subsequent study the relation between thoracic dominance and state-trait anxiety and between abdominal dominance and state-trait anxiety should be assessed to develop this research regarding the psychosomatic characteristics of anxiety and the anxiety-affinitive constitution. Further, it is essential to create an anxiety-affinitive constitution index based on multi-regression analysis.

The acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a result of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection which subsequently leads to significant suppression of immune functions. AIDS is a significant threat to the health of mankind, and the search for effective therapies to treat AIDS is of paramount importance. Several chemical anti-HIV agents have been developed. However, besides the high cost, there are adverse effects and limitations associated with using chemotherapy for the treatment of HIV infection Thus, herbal medicines have frequently been used as an alternative medical therapy by HIV positive individuals and AIDS patients. The aim of this review is to summarize research findings for herbal medicines, which are endowed with the ability to inhibit HIV. In this article, we will emphasize a Chinese herbal medicine. Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi and its identified components (i.e. baicalein and baicalin) which have been shown to inhibit infectivity and replication of HIV. Potential development of anti-AIDS compounds using molecular modeling methods will also be discussed.

The effects of Choto-san on microcirculation, serum nitric oxide and lipid peroxides were investigated. Fifteen patients with asymptomatic cerebral infarction were investigated before and after a four-week administration of Choto-san. The variables of microcirculation of the bulbar conjunctive, which were the internal diameter of vessels, flow velocity and flow volume rate, were increased. Serum tended to increase and lipid peroxides were decreased. Total serum cholesterol was also decreased. These results suggest that Choto-san may improve microcirculation affected by endothelial function and fat metabolism.

The levels of lipofuscin and lipid peroxidation reflect the degree of free radical-induced oxidative damage in the brain. We examined the effects of CDA-ll, a preparation of human urine, on lipofuscin and lipid peroxidation in the brain of young (3.5 months) and middle-aged rats (17 months). The rats were given CDA-ll orally at dosages of 0.3 or 1.0 g/kg daily for 8 weeks. CDA-ll significantly suppressed the contents of lipofuscin and lipid peroxidation in both young and middle-aged rats. CDA-ll also elevated the activity of superoxide dismutase, and the amounts of glutathione and ascorbic acid in the middle-aged rats, but not in the young ones. Our results suggest that the protection against oxidative damage by CDA-ll in the young rat brain may be due to its scavenging activity against free radicals. In the middle-aged rats, in addition to the scavenging activity, the levels of endogenous antioxidants were also enhanced by the CDA-ll treatment.

This study investigates the protective effects of GamiHyangsa-Yukgunja (GHY, a popular herbal medicine formula) on indomethacin-induced gastric mucosal lesions and morphological change in rats. Subcutaneous injection of indomethacin (25 mg/kg) produced the following gastric morphological alterations; mucosa hermorrhagic infarct, mucosa cell necrosis, leukocyte infiltration, mucosa hemorrhagic erosion, and gastric pit disappearance. Tissue damages were accompanied by increased oxidative stress, lipid peroxidation, and decreases in superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT) activities, and glutathione (GSH) concentrations. Our results show that pretreatment of the rats with orally administered GHY extract (3.3 ml/kg/day) significantly reduced gastric lesion formation and caused the amelioration of several pathological changes in the above-mentioned gastric mucosal lesions. Concomuitantly, GHY-pretreatment increased gastric mucosal SOD and CAT activities and GSH concentrations. We therefore propose that GHY exerts a prophylactic effect on the indomethacin-induced gastric mucosal lesions by enhancing antioxidant defense systems.

Dai-Kenchu-To (DKT) is a herbal medicine and is currently used as the treatment of paralytic ileus in Japan. We investigated the mechanism of beneficial effects of DKT in vitro. DKT-extract powder (DKT-EP; 30–300 μg/ml) caused a significant inhibition on carbachol (CCH; 10^-6)-induced contraction in a concentration dependent manner of the rat distal colon. DKT-EP (100 μg/ml) consists of 20 μg/ml of Zanthoxylum Fruit, 30 μg/ml of Ginseng Root and 50 μg/ml of Ginger Rhizome. Although each of them had no effect on CCH-induced muscle contraction, the combination of three ingredients caused a significant inhibition on CCH-induced contraction.

To clarify the mechanisms of the anti-mammary tumor activity of coffee cherry (CC), the residue left after the removal of beans from the fruit, the effects in SHN mice of CC on plasma and urine component levels, mammary gland growth, spontaneous motor activity and several related parameters were examined. Hot water extract of CC was given to 2-month-old mice in drinking water (0.5%) for 60 days. The treatment prevented the elevation of plasma and urine levels of alanin aminotransferase and asparate aminotransferase, indicating that CC can protect against metabolic abnormality, which is a cause of the high mammary tumor susceptibility of SHN mice. It also resulted in an inhibition of the formation of precancerous mammary hyperplastic alveolar nodules. Neither food and water intake nor spontaneous motor activity was affected by CC. The findings provide novel information on the mechanism of the protective effect of CC on mammary tumorigenesis and confirm the usefulness of CC as a safe chemopreventive agent of mammary and other types of tumors.

The water extract of Sophorae radix was tested for its preventive effects against cardiovascular anaphylaxis elicited in experimental animals. In actively sensitized pithed rats, the extract partially protected the animals from death resulting from antigen challenge. Of the cardiovascular changes observed during the anaphylaxis in the pithed animals, the initial pressor response was significantly attenuated by the extract. The extract also improved anaphylactic cardiac dysfunction in passively sensitized isolated guinea hearts: improvement was noted in the contractility, arrhythmic duration and lactate dehydrogenase elevation. The perfusion pressure change to antigen challenge was not altered by the extract in passively sensitized isolated mesenteric artery preparations. The extract however significantly inhibited homologous passive cutaneous anaphylaxis responses in rats. When examined in isolated guinea pig tracheal muscle, the extract did not influence at reasonable concentrations on the contractions elicited by three major anaphylactic mediators, histamine, leukotriene D4 and serotonin. These results suggest that the water extract of Sophorae radix possesses anti-anaphylactic effect in cardiovascular system, primarily acting on the heart not the peripheral resistance vessels.

We investigated the effects of Orengedoku-to (Huanglian-Jie-Du-Tang in Chinese) and Senkanmeimoku-to (Xygan-Ming-Mu-Tang in Chinese), traditional herbal medicines, on experimantal elevation of aqueous flare in pigmented rabbits. To produce the elevation of aqueous flare in rabbits, prostagalandin E₂ (PGE₂) was applied to the cornea with use of a glass cylinder, or lipopolysaccharides (LPS) were injected into the ear vein. Animals were pretreated by the oral administration of 150 g/day of food containing 0.7%, 0.2% or 0.07% (w/w) Orengedoku-to, or 2%, 0.6% or 0.2% (w/w) Senkanmeimoku-to for 5 days. Aquenous flare was measured with a laser flare-cell meter. Pretreatment with 0.7% or 0.2% Orengedoku-to and 2% Senkanmeimoku-to did suppress significantly (P < 0.05) elevation of aqueous flare induced by PGE₂. Pretreatment with 0.7% or 0.2% Orengedoku-to and 2% or 0.6% Senkanmeimoku-to significantly suppressed (P < 0.001) elevation of aqueous flare induced by LPS. It is possible that Orengedoku-to and Senkanmeimoku-to may migrate some forms of uveitis.

Twenty-three ICR mice were force fed orally with American ginseng extract, Panax quin-quefolius, (Cold FX^®) for 4 days. Another 20 mice were fed with water as placebo in a similar fashion. Formalin tests which yield typically two phases of pain behavior were done in both groups. Although there was no difference in the first phase between groups, mice treated with Cold FX^® spent significantly less time in licking and biting of the injured paws in the second phase. The data indicate that American ginseng may have analgesic effect in this chronic pain model.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of two constituents of Panax notoginseng flower extract, Ginsenoside Rb2 and Rc, on human sperm motility and proression in vitro. Semen samples were collected from 20 patients with sperm motility between 20% and 40% of normal. All samples had sperm counts of over 20 million per milliliter, in accordance with the World Health Organization standard. Sperm were separated by a Percoll discontinuous gradient technique, and divided into a Percoll sperm control group, and three Ginsenoside Rb2 experimental groups (0.1, 0.01 and 0.001 mg/ml) and three Ginsenoside Rc experimental groups (0.1, 0.01 and 0.001 mg/ml). The results showed that at concentrations of 0.01 mg/ml and 0.001 mg/ml, Ginsenoxide Rc enhanced both sperm motility and sperm progression significantly at the end of the 1st and 2nd hour. However, the three concentrations of Ginsenoside Rb2 did not increase sperm motility at the 1st or 2nd hour, but promoted sperm progression at the 2nd hour, when compared to the Percoll group.

The inhibition of arylamine N-acetyltransferase (NAT) activity by norcantharidin (NCTD), the demethylated form of cantharidin, in human hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cells was investigated. By using high performance liquid chromatography, NAT activity on acetylation of 2-aminofluorene (AF) and p-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) were examined. Two assay system were performed, one with cellular cytosols, the other with intact HepG2 cell suspensions. The NAT activity in HepG2 cell line was inhibited by norcantharidin in a dose-dependent manner in both types of examined systems: i.e. the greater the concentration of norcantharidin in the reaction, the greater the inhibition of NAT activities. This report is the first to show that norcantharidin has an inhibitory effect on NAT activity in HepG2 cell.

We isolated the phenolic compounds epicatechin, catechin, procyanidin B-1, procyanidin B-2, hyperin and caffeic acid from the hooks and stems of Uncaria sinensis (HSUS), and studied their protective effects against glutamate-induced neuronal death in cultured rat cerebellar granule cells. Cell viability evaluated by MTT assay was significantly increased by application of epicatechin (100–300 μM), catechin (300 μM), procyanidin B-1 (30–300 μM) and procyanidin B-2 (100–300 μM) compared with exposure to glutamate only. ⁴⁵Ca²⁺ influx into cells induced by glutamate was also significantly inhibited by administration of epicatechin (300 μM), catechin (300 μM), procyanidin B-1 (100–300 μM) and procyanidin B-2 (100–300 μM). These results suggest that epicatechin, catechin, procyanidin B-1 and procyanidin B-2 are the active components of HSUS that protect against glutamate-induced neuronal death in cultured cerebellar granule cells by inhibition of Ca²⁺ influx.

This article reviewed the meaning and development of epilepsy in Chinese culture. The theories of Yin and Yang and the five elements, fundamentals of traditional Chinese medicine, were introduced, which form the context of understanding of the etiology, classification, and treatment of epilepsy in traditional Chinese medicine.