Acupuncture of the Beishu acupoint participates in regulatory effects of ginsenoside Rg1 on T cell subsets of rats with chronic fatigue syndrome.

Background: There are close relationships between the spleen and limb muscles and thoughts. The study aims to test the effects of ginsenoside Rg1 in combination with acupuncture of the Beishu acupoint on T cell subsets of rats with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).

Methods: The model was set up by combining forced cold-water swimming with chronic restraint. The rats were randomly divided into blank control, model, ginsenoside, acupuncture, and ginsenoside plus acupuncture groups (n=10). For the acupuncture group, the Beishu acupoint was acupunctured on the 2nd day after modeling. For the ginsenoside group, the ginsenoside Rg1 solution was injected into the tail vein on the 2nd day after modeling. For the combination group, both processes were conducted. These groups were compared regarding exhausted swimming time, number of struggles, resting time, serum levels of IgA, IgG, IgM, IFN-α, IFN-β, and IFN-γ, lymphocyte transformation rate, T cell subsets, and skeletal muscle activities of malondialdehyde (MDA), total antioxidative capacity (T-AOC) and acetylcholinesterase (Ache).

Results: The exhausted swimming time, number of struggles, and resting time of combination group surpassed those in the ginsenoside and acupuncture groups significantly (P<0.05). The serum levels of IgA, IgG, IgM, IFN-β, IFN-γ, T-AOC, and Ache, together with CD3+ and CD8+ T cell percentages of combination groups, were significantly higher than those of ginsenoside and acupuncture groups. However, the IFN-α level, MDA activity, and CD4+ T cell percentage were significantly lower (P<0.05). Compared with the model group, the CD4+/CD8+ T cell ratios of acupuncture, ginsenoside, and combination groups decreased significantly (P<0.05). Compared with the combination group, the ratio of the ginsenoside group increased significantly (P<0.05).

Conclusions: Both acupuncture of the Beishu acupoint and intravenous injection of ginsenoside Rg1 have anti-fatigue effects, and their combination works synergistically. This study supplies an experimental basis for joint therapy using acupuncture and drugs to combat fatigue synergistically.