Effects of different moxibustion therapies on contents of SOD，MDA and reproductive endocrines in male rats with partial androgen deficiency

Abstract:

Objective：To observe the effects of different moxibustion therapies on contents of superoxide dismutase（SOD），malonic dialdehyde（MDA） and reproductive endocrine in male rats with partial androgen deficiency of aging male（PADAM）. Methods：Totally 50 male rats were randomly divided into normal control group（n=10） and model group（n=40）. The rats in model group were injected with cyclophosphamide in abdominal cavities to make PADAM model. Thirty-two rats were randomly selected from model group and were randomized into mild-moxibustion group，scarring-moxibustion group，rolin group and control group. Before modeling，after modeling and at the end of experiments，all rats' serum total testosterone（TT） and free testosterone（FT） levels were detected and exhaustion swimming tests and tail suspension experiments were observed. The SOD and MDA levels in kidney and testis tissues as well as the serum luteinizing hormone（LH） and follicle-stimulating hormone（FSH） levels were determined at the end of the experiments. Results：（1）A successful modeling of PADAM was made by using cyclophosphamide. （2）After the treatments，the serum TT and FT levels in three treatment groups increased signifi－cantly compared with those pre-therapy and control group（P=0.000）. The serum LH and FSH levels decreased significantly（P=0.000）. The duration of immobility and the duration of ex－haustion swimming also improved significantly（P=0.000）. SOD activities in the kidney and testis increased obviously（P=0.000） and MDA contents decreased significantly（P=0.000）. The curative effect of mild-moxibustion group was better compared with that of the other two groups（P=0.004，P=0.009；P=0.000，P=0.000；P=0.000，P=0.003） and no significant difference was found between scarring-moxibustion group and androlin group（P=0.762，P=0.282，P=0.247）. Conclusion：（1）Two kinds of moxibustion therapies could improve the depression state，myodynamia and energy in the aging rats as well as increase TT and FT levels，with the similar effects of testosterone propionate. （2）Two kinds of moxibustion therapies could increase SOD activities and decrease MDA contents in the kidney，indicating a correlation between electro-acupuncture cured PADAM and improved free radical related systems in the body. （3）Mild-moxibustion had a better curative effect，providing experi－mental data and proof for clinical treatment.