Effect of 100 Hz electroacupuncture on salivary immunoglobulin A and the autonomic nervous system.

BACKGROUND: A previous study has reported that low-frequency (LF) electroacupuncture (EA) influences salivary secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) and the autonomic nervous system (ANS). The ANS is known to control the secretion volume of sIgA; however, the effect of high-frequency (HF) EA on salivary sIgA has not been determined. We investigated whether HF EA affects salivary sIgA levels and the ANS. METHOD: Sixteen healthy subjects were randomly classified into two groups: a control group and an EA group. After a 5 min rest, subjects in the EA group received EA at 100 Hz bilaterally at LI4 and LI11 for 15 min before resting for a further 40 min post-stimulation. Subjects in the control group rested for a total of 60 min. Measurements of the ANS and sIgA levels in both groups were made before, immediately after, 20 min after, and 40 min after rest or 15 min EA treatment. HF and LF components of heart rate variability were analysed as markers of ANS function. LF/HF ratio and HF were taken as indices of sympathetic and parasympathetic nerve activity, respectively. Salivary protein concentrations and sIgA levels were determined by Bradford protein assay and ELISA, respectively. RESULTS: LF/HF ratio was significantly increased immediately after EA. HF was significantly increased at 20 min after EA and sIgA level was significantly increased at 40 min after EA. In addition, HF and salivary sIgA level were positively correlated with each another. CONCLUSIONS: HF EA exerted sequential positive effects on sympathetic nerve activity, parasympathetic nerve activity, and salivary sIgA level (immediately and after 20 and 40 min, respectively). HF EA may increase salivary sIgA levels by influencing parasympathetic nerve activity.

Two Cases of Plantar Keratosis Successfully Cured by Intake of Coix-seed Reactive Derivatives (CRD) / 日本補完代替医療学会誌

To clarify the functions of Coix-seed Reactive Derivatives(CRD), we observed 2 cases of plantar keratosis (case 1. 34 years of age, female/ case 2. 29 years of age, female) successfully cured by intake of CRD for several months. Although CRD intake seemed to be effective in these cases, further studies are needed to define the optimal dose and duration.

Dermatitis Successfully Cured by Intake of Coix-seed Reactive Derivatives (CRD): An Observational Study / 日本補完代替医療学会誌

To clarify the functions of Coix-seed Reactive Derivatives(CRD), we observed 3 cases of refractory atopic dermatitis(case 1. 25 years of age, male/ case 2. 40 years of age, female/ case 3. 5 years of age, male) successfully cured by intake of CRD. Although CRD intake seemed to be effective in all cases, further studies are needed to define the optimal dose and duration.

Two Cases of Plantar Wart Successfully Cured by Intake of Coix-seed Reactive Derivatives (CRD) / 日本補完代替医療学会誌

To clarify the functions of Coix-seed Reactive Derivatives(CRD), we observed 2 cases of plantar wart (case 1. 8 years of age, female/ case 2. 26 years of age, female) successfully cured by intake of CRD for several months. Although CRD intake seemed to be effective in these cases, further studies are needed to define the optimal dose and duration.

A Case of Hand Eczema Cured by Intake of Coix-seed Reactive Derivatives (CRD) / 日本補完代替医療学会誌

In this report, we presented the case of a 45-year-old man who developed intractable eczema on the thumb-index interdigital fold for over 3 years. Coix-seed Reactive Derivatives(CRD) was administrated at a dose of 2.2g/day per day. The lesion cured markedly within 7 months. Although CRD intake seemed to be effective in this case, further studies are needed to define the optimal dose of this food.

Data Analysis of Health-related Information of Kurobe Local Resident by Constitution Theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine / 日本補完代替医療学会誌

With the cooperation of Kurobe City, we conducted a basic survey using the nine classification of constitution and an intervention survey using a constitutional guidance program. The basic survey was conducted by the Kurobe group (Kurobe River alluvial fan spring water drinker n=155, 60.6±10.4 years old) and the non-Kurobe group (normal tap water drinker n=99, 50.7±12.8 living in the Hokuriku region without Kurobe City). A total of three surveys were conducted using the constitution Questionnaire (CCMQ-J). As a result, the Gentleness type, which is usually called the healthy constitution, was clearly higher in the Kurobe group, with 44.6 % in the Kurobe group and 22.5 % in the non-Kurobe group. In the proportion of each biased constitution(Mibyo constitution), the Kurobe group had less Wet-heat type (4.5 % vs 11.8 %), Qi-depression type (5.4 % vs 10.7 %), Yin-deficiency type (7.1 % vs 12.3 %) , and Phlegm-wetness type (5.8 % vs 9.6 %) than the non-Kurobe group. After the basic survey was completed, the Kurobe group was randomly divided into two groups, an intervention group (n=65, 62.3±9.3 years old) and a non-intervention group (n=68, 62.7±9.8 years old), and compared with the non-Kurobe group (control group) (n=80, 51.9±13.6 years old). The survey design was a simple comparative study, and the primary endpoint was a comparative study of changes in constitutional scores before and after intervention. As a result, in the Yang-deficiency type, a significant difference was observed between the intervention group, the non-intervention group and the control group at the first time after the intervention (One-way ANOVA p=0.04). No change was seen in the second survey after the intervention. In the comparison of Phlegm-wetness type between the three groups, there was a tendency in the amount of change in the constitutional score (One-way ANOVA p=0.087). From the above, it was suggested that the constitutional survey can not only grasp the health and the pre-symptomatic state, but also improve the pre-symptomatic by combining the guidance methods according to the constitution.

Effect of Coix-seed Reactive Derivatives(CRD) on Cold Sensitivity of Female Hands and Feet: A Randomized Controlled Trial / 日本補完代替医療学会誌

We evaluated the effect of Coix-seed Reactive Derivatives (CRD) on cold sensitivity of female hands and feet. Ninety females were assigned randomly to 3 groups and CRD(2g/day, 4g/day or placebo) was administrated for 8weeks. Significant improvement of cold sensitivity was observed in both the 2g/day and 4g/day groups. It was speculated that a naringenin and a quercetin as active ingredients of adlay hull may play a critical role in ameliorating effect on blood flow.

Java Ginger Bangle / 日本補完代替医療学会誌

The review reveals latest studies of Bangle that has unique ingredients, safety, healthy effect and especially neurotrophin activity. Banglenes have some neurotrophin activity such as neuritogenesis without NGF in vitro, property that enhances hippocampal neurogenesis and crosses the blood-brain barrier (BBB) in vivo. On the other hand, Java ginger bangle (Extract) improves spatial learning in Senescence-Accelerated Mouse. Moreover the human clinical trial for MCI (Mild Cognitive Impairment) have been just started.

Successful Treatment of Severe Nummular Eczema of Fingers with Coix-seed Reactive Derivatives (CRD): A Case Report / 日本補完代替医療学会誌

In this report, we presented the case of a 52-year-old woman who developed intractable nummular eczema of fingers for over 5 years. Coix-seed Reactive Derivatives(CRD) was administrated orally 2.2 g twice a day for 6 months. The lesions cured markedly within one month. Although CRD intake seemed to be effective in this case, further studies are needed to define the optimal dose of this food.

Acne Vulgaris Successfully Cured by Intake of Coix-seed Reactive Derivatives (CRD): A Case-series Study / 日本補完代替医療学会誌

To clarify the functions of Coix Reactive Derivatives(CRD), we observed 4 cases of refractory acne vulgaris (case 1. 20 years of age, male/ case 2. 46 years of age, female/ case 3. 20 years of age, male /case 4. 28 years of age, female) successfully cured by intake of CRD for several months. Although CRD intake seemed to be effective in all cases, further studies are needed to define the optimal dose and duration.

The Mouse Micronucleus Test of Java Ginger Bangle / 日本補完代替医療学会誌

Previous studies have demonstrated that Java ginger ( Zingiber purpureum) that is called ‘Bangle’ in Indonesia have some kinds of cognitive effects. In order to evaluate the safety of Java ginger bangle, we studied the genotoxicity by micronucleus test. The result shows that Java ginger bangle have no effect inducing appearance of micronucleus.

Effective Use of Coix-seed Reactive Derivatives (CRD) in Managing Photoaging of the Skin: A Case Report / 日本補完代替医療学会誌

Ultraviolet (UV)-induced wrinkle and pigmentation are very common in clinical practice. In this report, we presented the case of a 58-year-old man who developed wrinkle and pigmentation around right hand, face and neck for ten years. Coix-seed Reactive Derivatives (CRD) was administrated orally 2.1g twice a day for 6 months. These lesions were improved in the third month, and a dramatic response was obtained at the end of 6 months of treatment. Further research is needed to define the optimal dose and duration of CRD intake.

Successful Treatment of Severe Friction Melanosis with Coix-seed Reactive Derivatives (CRD): A Case Report / 日本補完代替医療学会誌

Friction melanosis is a cutaneous entity characterized by a brownish pigmentation distributed on the skin over bony regions of various sites including a trunk or the limbs, after the use, for many years, of a nylon towel or scrub brush to clean the skin. Moreover, repeated trauma due to friction of clothes on the skin over bony prominences are another factors characterizing its pathogenesis. In this report, we presented the case of a 58-year-old man who developed severe friction melanosis around both knees and lower extremities for about 20 years. Coix-seed Reactive Derivatives (CRD) was administrated orally 2.1g twice a day for 6 months. The lesions of pigmentation diminished markedly within 3 months. Further research is needed to define the optimal dose and duration of CRD intake against friction melanosis.

The Clinical Safety Test of the Intake of Coix-seed Reactive Derivatives (CRD) in Healthy Adult Volunteers / 日本補完代替医療学会誌

Objective: In this study, we evaluated the safety of intake of Coix-seed Reactive Derivatives (CRD) in healthy adult volunteers.Methods: Eight subjects (4 males and 4 females, ages 26.6 ± 4.7) consumed 2.0g CRD/day for 4weeks. We observed weight, vital signs(blood pressure, pulse, body temperature), complete blood count(red blood cell count, hemoglobin, hematocrit, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, white blood cell count, and platelet count), hemogram, blood chemistry(Na, K, Cl, AST, ALT, γ-GTP, LDH, ALP, total protein, albumin, A/G, total bilirubin, urea nitrogen, creatinine, cholinesterase, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and neutral fats), coagulation examination (prothrombin time and partial prothrombin time), and urinalysis (sugar, protein, and occult blood in urine).Results: Although several laboratory data (MCHC, MCV and serum creatinine) changed slightly, all of these values were within normal range. Furthermore, no severe adverse effect was observed.　Conclusion: These results suggest that CRD intake up to 2g/day is safe in healthy adults. Further study will be needed to define the safety of long-term administration of CRD.

Study on the Effect of Porcine Placental Extract Ingestion on Symptoms of Late-onset Hypogonadism Syndrome in Middle-aged and Elderly Men / 日本補完代替医療学会誌

Purpose: An open-label, single-arm study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of porcine placental extract (PPE) ingestion to improve late-onset hypogonadism (LOH) syndrome symptoms. In addition, we reported the safety of continuous PPE ingestion in biochemistry tests.Materials and Methods: Test food containing PPE was given daily to healthy male subjects with an Aging Males’ Symptoms (AMS) score of ≥27, who were assessed as having LOH syndrome. AMS score, blood hormone level, and other parameters were measured before the start of PPE ingestion, Week 4, and Week 8. And adverse events that occurred during the ingestion period were accumulated.Results: Excluding one subject who withdrew from the study due to an adverse event unrelated to the test food, 14 subjects were included in the analysis. In terms of AMS score, no improvement was observed at Week 4, whereas a significant improvement was observed at Week 8. AMS scores were further categorized into three subscales (psychological, somatic, and sexual) and analyzed. The results showed a significant improvement from baseline in somatic scores at Week 8. Meanwhile, no significant change in sexual hormone levels was observed. At Week 8, improvements from baseline were observed in renal function and LDL cholesterol level. There were no adverse events related to the test food.Conclusion: The study demonstrated that 8-week PPE ingestion in middle-aged and elderly men can improve LOH syndrome symptoms while having little effect on sexual hormone secretion.

<b>Effects of Dietary Supplement Containing Kurozu Concentrate on Blood Pressure, QOL and TCM Constitution</b> / 日本補完代替医療学会誌

<b>Objectives</b>: The present study was examined the effects of dietary supplement containing Kurozu concentrate on Blood Pressure, QOL and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Constitution. <b>Methods</b>: Forty subjects with slightly high blood pressure were assigned randomly to 2 groups (active group and placebo group). Kurozu-containing foods or the placebo was administered to the subjects daily for 12 weeks. At week 0, 6 and 12, blood samples were collected, physical measurements were taken, and the quality of life (SF-36v2) and TCM constitution were examined. <b>Results</b>: Significant differences on blood pressure and TCM constitution between the groups were observed at week 12. The change of QOL between the groups was observed significantly at week 6. <b>Conclusion</b>: These findings suggest that foods containing Kurozu have hypotensive action and improve effects on constitutional problems. In addition, it was confirmed that foods containing Kurozu are safe to ingest.

A Cross-sectional Study on the Association between the Constitution in Chinese Medicine and the risk factors of Lifestyle Diseases / 日本補完代替医療学会誌

We examined the association of 9 types of the Constitution in Chinese Medicine and body mass index (BMI) and/or the energy intake, which are considered to relate with lifestyle diseases. We obtained data on the Constitution in Chinese Medicine Questionnaire, height, weight, a Food Frequency Questionnaire, age, and exercise habits from 729 subjects through the Internet. We performed multiple comparison tests on the BMIs, the energy intake or the adjusted energy intake for age, height, weight, and exercise habits between types of the Constitution in Chinese Medicine. In women, the BMIs were not significantly different between personality types of the Constitution in Chinese Medicine. In men, the BMI of the yang-deficiency group was significantly lower than the ones of the gentleness, qi-deficiency, or phlegm-dampness groups (p = 0.0098, 0.029, or 0.040, respectively). No significant relationship was found between energy intake or adjusted energy intake and types of the Constitution in Chinese Medicine in men or women. Further studies are required to determine whether the Constitution in Chinese Medicine are useful for reducing risk factors for lifestyle diseases.

Determination of Optimum Number of Groups on the Crowdsourcing Survey in Japanese People Interpreted by Physical Constitution Defined by CCMQ-J / 日本補完代替医療学会誌

Chinese Medicine Questionnaire (CCMQ-J) consists of sixty independent questionnaires and 9 physical constitutions called subscales. One type is balanced constitution (i.e., gentleness), and the following eight types represent unbalanced constitution: Qi-deficiency constitution, Yang-deficiency constitution, Yin-deficiency constitution, Phlegm-dampness constitution, Damp-heat constitution, Stagnant Blood constitution, Stagnant Qi constitution, and Inherited Special constitution. In this study, we proposed to determine optimal number of groups in 851 participants recruited from crowdsourcing answered CCMQ-J questionnaire consisting of 60 questions. In the present study, we applied k-means clustering with gap statistics to the questionnaire data and the number of optimal groups was estimated by five. The five groups are mainly characterized by 3 subscales in CCMQ-J, i.e. (i) two subscales corresponding to Yang-deficiency and Qi-depress, (ii) three subscales corresponding to gentleness, Yang-deficiency and Qi-depress (iii) Yang-deficiency, (iv) gentleness, and (v) Qi-depress. In the crowdsourcing survey, two subscales, Yang-deficient and Qi-depress are the most frequently occurred in current Japanese people.

Evaluation and Interpretation of 9 Body Constitution Scores of CCMQ-J by Seven Independent Questionnaires / 日本補完代替医療学会誌

In this study, we proposed an approach to interpret the classification of body constitution based on the Japanese Version of Constitution in Chinese Medicine Questionnaire (CCMQ-J) in terms of an augmented questionnaire combining seven independent questionnaires. The augmented questionnaire consists of 254 questions in terms of seven categories of attributes, which are the (i) basic information (BI), (ii) disease (DI), (iii) social factors (SO), (iv) mental factors (ME), (v) dietary habits (DH), (vi) sleeping state (SL), and (vii) sub-health (SH). The partial least square (PLS) regression has been adopted to model the correlations between the scores of body constitutions and the questions, and their results show that the body constitution can be represented by the linear combination of the questions substantially (correlation coefficients between the true and predicted constitutions are all above 0.7). Moreover, by using the crowdsourcing technique in data collection, a total of 851 samples (350 males and 501 females between 20 and 85 years old) samples with diverse geographical backgrounds in Japan have been collected, from which new medical implications have been extracted through the discussion in a Traditional Chinese Medicine standpoint. This study serves as a crucial step for validating the philosophy of ancient Chinese medicine by the state-of-the-art information science techniques and facilitating the use of the CCMQ-J in public healthcare.

Effects of Coix-seed Reactive Derivatives (CRD) on Cytochrome P450 Isoforms CYP3A4, CYP2D6, CYP2C9 In Vitro / 日本補完代替医療学会誌

CRD, a Coix-seed Reactive Derivatives, has a novel mechanism in the treatment of various diseases. In the present study, a fluorometric-based high throughput method using cytochrome P450 (CYP)screening kit was adopted to evaluate in vitro inhibition potential of CRD (CRD 1 and CRD 2) on CYP isoenzymes by calculating remaining enzyme activities and inhibitory potential (IC50 values) using the determined values of fluorescence intensity. IC50　of CRD 1 and CRD 2 were as follows: CYP3A4; >500 µg/ml, 490 µg/ml, CYP2D6; >500 µg/ml，>500 µg/ml，CYP2C9; >500 µg/ml，339 µg/ml, respectively. The result showed that CRD exhibited little activity in the inhibition of CYP3A4, CYP2D6 and CYP2C9.