Comparative Study of Najia(纳甲) and Nazi(纳子) Acupunctures to Reduce Rat Gastric Ulcer

Abstract

Gastric ulcer is a common digestive system disease, which leads to the serious decline in the life quality and effective therapies are in urgent need. Midnight- midday ebb flow acupunctures(子午流注针刺法) including Najia(纳甲) and Nazi(纳子) acupunctures have been applied in clinics in China for more than one thousand years and the acupoints are selected according to the time rhythm. Najia(纳甲) acupuncture, namely day-prescription of acupoints, divides ten days (one cycle) into 120 two-hour periods and each period is coordinated with a meridian. Meanwhile, Nazi (纳子) acupuncture, namely hour-prescription of acupoints, divides a day(one cycle) into 12 two-hour periods and each period is coordinated with a meridian. When there is a disease in a certain meridian, the relevant acupoints are operated in the corresponding time. However, the comparative efficacies of Najia(纳甲) and Nazi (纳子) acupunctures on promoting the healing of gastric ulcer are still unknown. In this study, gastric ulcer rats were induced by aceticacid and were randomly divided into four groups: non-acupuncture group, normal acupuncture group, Najia(纳甲) acupuncture group and Nazi (纳子) acupuncture group. After different treatments for continuous 10 days, the gained weight, gastric ulcer area and the thickness of gastric mucosa were measured and analyzed. Decreased ulcer area, increased mucosa thickness and dense scar tissue occurred in the Najia(纳甲) group and Nazi (纳子) group compared to that in the non-acupuncture group (P< 0.05). However, there were no significant differences between Najia(纳甲) and Nazi (纳子) acupuncture groups (P> 0.05). Thickness of gastric mucosa in Nazi (纳子) acupuncture group increased significantly compared to normal acupuncture group (P< 0.05). Therefore, the findings in this study indicated that Najia(纳甲) and Nazi (纳子) acupunctures had gastroprotective effects and accelerated the healing of acetic acid-induced gastric ulcer in rats, but no significant differences between them. It may provide valuable information for development of acupuncture for the treatment of gastric ulcer in clinics.