Objective:To study the effects of different acupuncture stimulation on nitric oxide(NO) content in acupoint areas.Methods:The experiment was performed in 47 healthy volunteers providing informed consents.Both males and females were included in each group:11 cases in electro-acupuncture group,13 cases in manual-acupuncture group,16 cases in warm-moxibustion group,and 7 cases in control group.Stimulations were given at Jianshi(PC 5) of the Pericardium Meridian and Chengshan(BL 57) of the Bladder Meridian with manual-acupuncture,electro-acupuncture and warm-moxibustion respectively.NO was collected from Ximen(PC 4) and Chengjin(BL 56) areas on the ipsilateral meridians,and the content was detected.Results:The content of NO in the warm-moxibustion group was higher than that in the electro-acupuncture group,the content in electro-acupuncture group was higher than that in the manual acupuncture group(P<0.05) . Conclusion:All the three stimulations can raise NO levels on acupoint areas significantly,and the effect moxibustion is superior to that of electro-acupuncture and manual acupuncture.
