Korean Journal of Acupuncture

Society for Meridian and Acupoint (경락경혈학회)
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Capsaicin Pharmacopuncture Modulates Ankle Sprain Induced Pain in Rats

Capsaicin 약침(藥鍼)이 흰쥐의 급성(急性) 염좌(捻挫)에 마치는 효과

  • Park, Sang-Yeon (Dept. of Meridian & Acupoint, College of Oriental Medicine, Wonkwang University) ;
  • Choi, Yoon-Young (Dept. of Meridian & Acupoint, College of Oriental Medicine, Wonkwang University) ;
  • Jeon, In-Sook (Dept. of Meridian & Acupoint, College of Oriental Medicine, Wonkwang University) ;
  • Koo, Sung-Tae (Dept. of Medical Research, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine) ;
  • Kim, Kyoung-Sik (Dept. of Meridian & Acupoint, College of Oriental Medicine, Wonkwang University) ;
  • Sohn, In-Chul (Dept. of Meridian & Acupoint, College of Oriental Medicine, Wonkwang University) ;
  • Kim, Jae-Hyo (Dept. of Meridian & Acupoint, College of Oriental Medicine, Wonkwang University)
  • 박상연 (원광대학교 한의과대학 경혈학교실) ;
  • 최윤영 (원광대학교 한의과대학 경혈학교실) ;
  • 전인숙 (원광대학교 한의과대학 경혈학교실) ;
  • 구성태 (한국한의학연구원 의료연구부) ;
  • 김경식 (원광대학교 한의과대학 경혈학교실) ;
  • 손인철 (원광대학교 한의과대학 경혈학교실) ;
  • 김재효 (원광대학교 한의과대학 경혈학교실)
  • Published : 2006.06.27
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Abstract

Objectives: Pharmacopuncture which is a combination of acupuncture and herbal medicine helps to prevent and treat the diseases and symptoms including various pains. However, little was known about the therapeutic effects and its mechanisms on acute pain, although pharmacopuncture has been used frequently in acupuncture clinics. Acupuncture is known for producing analgesia for persistent ankle sprain pain in human. Furthermore, it also produces analgesia in a rat model of ankle sprain pain. Methods: To illuminate the underlying mechanisms of capsaicin pharmacopuncture-induced analgesia, weight bearing force (WBF) was observed on the acute ankle sprained rat model. Ankle sprain was induced in the rat by manually hyper-extending ligaments of the right ankle. Capsaicin pharmacopuncture was applied to SI6 (Yanglo) on the left forelimb (contralateral to the sprained ankle). Results: In behavioral test, capsaicin pharmacopuncture produced marked analgesic effects on acute ankle sprained animals as measured by WBF of the affected limb similar to manual acupuncture. Capsaicin pharmacopuncture was also suppressed by serotonin (5-HT) receptor antagonist methysergide (2 mg/kg, Lp.), but not by opioids receptor antagonist naltrexone (10 mg/kg, Lp.) and alpha adrenoceptor antagonist phentolamine (5 mg/kg, Lp.). Conclusion: The data suggest that capsaicin pharmacopuncture-induced analgesia is accomplished by activating the descending serotonergic inhibitory systems.

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