Effects of moxibustion or moxa smoke on serum lipids and carotid plaque stability in atherosclerotic mice

The Mechanism Study of Moxa Combustion Products on Regulating Vascular Endothelial Function in Atherosclerotic Mice

Objective

To evaluate the anti-atherogenic effect of moxa combustion products (MCPs) and whether it is mediated through improving the vascular endothelial function in ApoE^−/− mice.

Methods

A total of 60 male ApoE^−/− mice were randomly divided into the moxa smoke (MS) group, filtered moxa smoke (FMS) group, moxa floss volatile (MFV) group, essential oil of Artemisia argyi (EOAA) group, and model group (n = 12/group), while 12 male C57BL/6 mice were used as the control group. The six groups were intervened for 20 min/day, 6 days/week. After 14 weeks of intervention, the mice were euthanized and their blood lipids were measured. The aortic roots and thoracic aortas were collected for haematoxylin and eosin (HE) or Oil Red O staining, respectively. The contents of AMPK, PI3K, Akt, and eNOS mRNA in the thoracic aortas were examined by RT-qPCR.

Results

The MS group and FMS group showed significantly lower plaque area percentage in the aortic roots and thoracic aortas and higher contents of AMPK-mRNA and eNOS-mRNA in the thoracic aortas compared with the model group.

Conclusion

MS and FMS equally suppressed the progression of atherosclerotic lesions in ApoE^−/− mice. It was suggested that the particulate matter in MS may not be the key components of moxibustion.