A Moxa Stimulation on the Leg Affected the Function of Stomach via Autonomic Nerve System and Polymodal Receptors

Abstract

The moxa therapy is a popular traditional hyperthermia therapy in East Asia. The moxa is made from dried mugwort ( Artemisiaargyi ). The moxa is usually put on a meridian point and then is burnt on to obtain a hyperthermic stimulation to the skin. However, very few researches have been studied in the effects and mechanism of the moxa therapy. Therefore, in this study, we gave the moxa stimulation to healthy subjects. In the moxa group, the moxa was lit on the ST36 ( Zusanli : an acupuncture point in anterior tibialis of the leg) for 5 minutes. Their responses were traced with electrogastrogram (EGG) and assessed the change of gastric function. At the same time, their heart rate (HR) was recorded and observed to study the mechanism of moxa treatment. And then their results were compared with those of the control group. After the moxa stimulation, EGG showed significant increase and stayed 3.0 - 3.1 cpm while HR prominently decreased. On the other hand, the control group did not indicate such results. Those results are common to the re-sponse of acupuncture-like stimulation by the reflex arc which consists of receptor, sensory neuron, central nervous system, motor neuron and effector. It may be explained as below: the elements of the acupuncture-like stimulation and the moxa are pain and hyperthermia respectively and they both are received by polymodal receptors. Thus the moxa stimulation applied on ST36 may be ef-fective to enhance stomach function.