Effect of Electroacupuncture on the Change in Glutathione Concentration in the Blood by Ergometer Exercise

Hideki Fujimoto; Tomoya Hayashi; Tomomi Sakai; Toshikazu Miyamoto

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Effect of Electroacupuncture on the Change in Glutathione Concentration in the Blood by Ergometer Exercise

VernacularTitle:Effect of Electroacupuncture on the Change in Glutathione Concentration in the Blood by Ergometer Exercise
Author: Hideki FUJIMOTO ¹ ; Tomoya HAYASHI ² ; Tomomi SAKAI ³ ; Toshikazu MIYAMOTO ²
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1. Doctoral Program of Sports Medicine, Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Science, University of Tsukuba
2. Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion Tokyo Ariake University of Medical and Health Sciences
3. Department of Physiology, Medical Education and Research Center, Meiji University of Integrative Medicine
Keywords: electroacupuncture; oxidative stress; glutathione; fatigue; exercise
From:The Journal of The Japanese Society of Balneology, Climatology and Physical Medicine 2013;76(2):105-116
CountryJapan
Language:Japanese
Abstract: Introduction Redox state of glutathione as an oxidative stress marker changes by exercise. Therefore, oxidative stress marker has been used to evaluate the physical condition of athletes. In athletics it is important to prevent fatigue for peak performance. Acupuncture has been used for fatigue prevention of athletes. However, there is little scientific evidence to prove the effect. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of electroacupuncture (EA) on the change in redox state of glutathione as an oxidative stress marker in the blood by ergometer exercise. Methods In this crossover study, the EA and control (CONT) groups each included 12 healthy male volunteers. EA at 2 Hz and optimum intensity was performed on each subject at both the SP10 (Xuehai) and SP11 (Jimen) locations for 10 min before exercise. Respiratory metabolism was recorded during bicycle ergometer exercise by ramp rate until exhaustion. Blood samples were collected from the fingertip of each subject before and after exercise. Oxidized glutathione (GSSG) and total glutathione (tGSH) concentrations in the blood were biochemically determined as a marker of oxidative stress. The degree of fatigue before and after exercise was evaluated by the visual analogue scale (VAS). Results The ventilatory threshold (VT) and the respiratory compensation point (RC), parameters of respiratory metabolism during exercise, did not differ significantly between the EA and CONT groups. Between both groups, the significant difference was not recognized to the amount of change in tGSH, GSSG, GSH, GSSG/tGSH by exercise. The GSSG/tGSH values after exercise was significantly lower than that before exercise in the EA group (p<0.05). In contrast, this level did not change significantly in the CONT group. The VAS values increased significantly after exercise in both groups (p<0.05); however, the VAS value in EA group showed a low tendency in comparison with that in CONT group. Discussion VT and RC did not differ between the two groups, indicating that the level of exercise was nearly the same for both groups. In comparison of both groups, there was no significant difference on the amount of change of each glutathione parameters by exercise. On the other hand, The GSSG/tGSH and the VAS values after exercise were lower than those values before exercise in the EA group. Therefore, it might be possible that the EA affects the change of the glutathione due to the exercise. Our results might suggest that EA-mediated change of GSH bear some related to suppression of fatigue.