Effect of acupuncture at specific acupoints on hypoxia tolerance time in mice

Objective: To observe the effects of acupuncture at different acupoints and non- acupoint acupuncture on the hypoxia tolerance time in mice and to confirm the existence of acupoint specificity and optimize clinical acupoint selection. Methods: A total of168 mice with the same body weight were randomly divided into acupoint group and non- acupoint group; the acupoint group was further divided into Zusanli group( n = 42) and Sanyinjiao group( n = 42),and the non- acupoint group was further divided into mouse tail group( n = 42) and blank group( n = 42). After being fixed with a fixator,the Zusanli group,Sanyinjiao group,and mouse tail group received acupuncture( neutral supplementation and draining for 5 min and needle retaining for 20 min); the blank group was fixed for the same length of time without acupuncture. The four groups were compared in terms of hypoxia tolerance time. Results: The Zusanli group had the longest hypoxia tolerance time,and the Zusanli group,Sanyinjiao group,and mouse tail group had a significantly prolonged hypoxia tolerance time compared with the blank group( P 0. 05); the Zusanli group and Sanyinjiao group had a significantly longer hypoxia tolerance time than the mouse tail group( P 0. 05); the Zusanli group had a nonsignificantly longer hypoxia tolerance time than the Sanyinjiao group( P 0. 05). Conclusion: Acupoint acupuncture can significantly prolong the hypoxia tolerance time in mice and has the best efficacy when applied at the Zusanli acupoint. Non- acupoint acupuncture has lower efficacy than acupoint acupuncture,suggesting the existence of acupoint specificity.