Experimental study on the effect of moxibustion at Shenque (CV 8) for long-term exercise-induced fatigue

Objective: To investigate the effect of moxibustion at Shenque (CV 8) on fatigue in rats with chronic exercise-induced exhaustion. Methods: Thirty male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into a blank group, a model group and a moxibustion group, 10 rats in each group. Except rats in the blank group, the remaining rats were subjected to create long-term exhaustion models by repeated swimming. After successful modeling, rats in the moxibustion group received mild moxibustion at Shenque (CV 8) for 15 min, once every other day with a total of 10 times. Rats in the model group and the blank group did not receive moxibustion. At the end of the treatment, the exhausted times, and the body weight of rats before and after the experiment were compared among groups. The levels of blood malondialdehyde (MDA) and urea nitrogen (BUN), as well as the activities of aspartate transarninase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were also measured by the automatic biochemical analyzer, 24 h after the exhausting excise. Results: The 10th swimming time was significantly longer in the moxibustion group than that in the model group (P < 0.01). The increase rate of the body weight was lower in the rats of the moxibustion group than that in the model group before the 7th and the 10th exhausting excise (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). The levels of serum MDA and BUN, as well as the activities of AST, ALT and LDH in the model group were higher than those in the blank group (all P < 0.01). The levels of serum MDA and BUN, as well as the activities of AST, ALT and LDH in the moxibustion group were lower than those in the model group (P < 0.01). Conclusion: Moxibustion at Shenque (CV 8) can decrease the serum levels of MDA and BUN, as well as activities of AST, ALT and LDH in the long-term fatigue rats, thus to improve the symptoms of fatigue.