Objective. To observe the effect of preventive acupuncture and moxibustion on blood lipid of menopause rats. Methods. Seventy 10-month-old SD rats with estrous cycle disorders were divided into three control groups and four treatment groups (n=10/group) and another ten 3.5-month-old female SD rats were chosen as young control group. Preventive acupuncture and moxibustion were applied at Guanyuan (CV 4). Body weight growth rate has been recorded. Plasma total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low density lipoprotein (LDL), and high density lipoprotein (HDL) levels and uterus E2 level were measured. Results. Compared to young control group, plasma TC and LDL increased and uterus E2 reduced significantly in 12-month-old control group. Compared to 12-month-old control group, plasma TC and LDL level and body weight growth rate decreased while HDL level increased remarkably in preventive acupuncture 12-month-old group. Compared to 14-month-old control group, plasma TC level and body weight growth rate decreased remarkably in preventive moxibustion 14-month-old group. Conclusions. Preventive acupuncture and moxibustion can significantly decrease the plasma TG and LDL, increase the plasma HDL, and prevent fat accumulation. Our finding suggests that preventive acupuncture and moxibustion have beneficial effects on blood lipid. Different treatment effects were found between preventive acupuncture and preventive moxibustion.
