[Effect of high-frequency electroacupuncture on lipid metabolism in obesity rats].

Objective: To observe the effect of high-frequency electroacupuncture (EA) on lipid metabolism in obesity rats.

Methods: Fifty-one SD rats were randomized into control group (n=13), model group (n=19) and EA group (n=19). Obesity model was duplicated by feeding the rats with high fat forage and subcutaneous injection of 15% glutamate sodium solution. EA (100 Hz, 3-5 mA) was applied to "Housanli" (ST 36), "Sanyinjiao" (SP 6), "Guanyuan" (CV 4) and "Zhongwan" (CV 12) for 10 min everyday and for 28 days. Lee's index, body weight, area and the number of the adipose cells around the left kidney were detected. Blood samples were collected for assaying serum triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC) with cholesterol oxidase phenol 4-aminoantipyrine peroxidase (CHOD-PAP) method, glycerol phosphate oxidase-p-aminophenazone (GPO-PAP) methods, high density lipid-cholesterol (HDL-C) with phosphotungstic acid- Mg2+ method, low density lipid-cholesterol (LDL-C) with polyvingel sulfate (PVS) sedimentation method and plasma lipoprotein lipase (LPL) with immunoturbidmetry endpoint method, and serum insulin and leptin contents with radioimmunoassay respectively.

Results: After modeling, in comparison with control group, Lee's index, serum TG, TC, LDL-C, fat weight, adipose cell area, serum leptin and insulin contents in model group increased considerably (P<0.05, 0.01), while serum HDL-C, plasma LPL, adipose cell number decreased significantly (P<0.05, 0.01). Following EA, compared with model group, Lee's index, serum TG, TC, LDL-C, fat weight, adipose cell area, serum leptin and insulin levels decreased significantly in EA group (P<0.05, 0.01), whereas serum HDL-C, plasma LPL, and adipose cell number increased apparently (P<0.01).

Conclusion: High frequency EA can effectively improve abnormal lipid metabolism, and reduce fat accumulation in obesity rats, which may be closely associated with its effect in regulating the balance between leptin and insulin levels.