Volume 2, Issue 1 , Pages 71-74, March 2009
The Effects of Fu Zi on Changes in the Body Heat of Dogs
Article Outline
Abstract
The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of Fu Zi on changes in the body heat of dogs. Twelve clinically healthy dogs were divided into two groups: the control group (six dogs) and the experimental group (six dogs). The control group was made to ingest normal saline mixed with canned meat, while the experimental group was made to ingest the Fu Zi solution mixed with canned meat. The infrared thermographic system was used to determine the level of body heat generated by these dogs. These areas include the dorsocranial (DCr), dorsocaudal (DCd), ventrocranial (VCr), and ventrocaudal (VCd) regions at pretreatment and were determined at 10, 20, 30, 50, 90, 120, 240, and 360 minutes after treatment for each of these areas. The results showed a tendency toward increased body heat until 30 minutes after ingestion of the Fu Zi powder mixed with canned meat. The significant differences in the changes of body heat were detected at 360 minutes in the DCd regions, 20 minutes in the VCr regions, and 30 minutes in the VCd regions between the experimental and control groups (p < 0.05). Based from our results, we find that Fu Zi can increase and maintain the dogs' body heat for at least 6 hours.
Key Words: Aconitum carmichaeli Debx , body heat , dog
1. Introduction
Fu Zi (aconite roots) is the branch roots of the Ranunculaceae Plant Aconitum carmichaeli Debx. It has an acrid taste, heat, and is considered to be poisonous. It can enter the heart, spleen, and kidneys, and has the functions of reviving Yang, saving back run, reinforcing power, and helping Yang diffuse cold [1]. As an herbal drug, it has been recorded in Traditional Chinese Medicine for thousands of years and appeared in the 2005 edition of the Pharmacopeia of the People's Republic of China, Chinese Pharmacopeia, and in the seventh revision of the Japanese Pharmaco poeia. Fu Zi displays therapeutic effects as treatment for coronary heart disease, anemo cardiopathia, hypotension, intoxication shock, rheumatic or rheumatoid arthritis, epigastric pain with cold sensation, and abdominal colic due to cold. It is also used as an analgesic in anesthesis.
Body heat is produced by metabolic activities and is controlled by radiation, conduction, and convection. Cutaneous vasodilation causes a rise in skin temperature. The cutaneous vasomotor reactions in response to thermal changes are mediated mainly by sympathetic vasoconstrictor nerves [2]. Currently, infrared thermography has been introduced in human and animal traditional medicine. Ovechkin et al [3] described a thermo-visual method to diagnose intracranial hypertension syndrome caused by a high intracranial pressure by observing the relative temperature distribution around the “Yin-Tang” acupuncture point. Park et al [4] performed a thermo-graphic study to observe any possible interaction between esophageal acid perfusion and temperature changes in the skin surface of patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease. Spire et al [5] reported that infrared thermographic imaging is a non-invasive diagnostic tool in identifying auricular abscess in cattle. Seo et al [6] also reported the differences in body surface temperature between the dorsal and ventral areas in adult and young dogs.
However, there is no report about the effects of Fu Zi herbs on body heat up to this day. This study was therefore conducted to investigate the effects of Fu Zi on body temperature, as assessed by the new thermographic technique.
2. Materials and Methods
Twelve experimental animals (five males and seven females), clinically healthy mongrel dogs, with weights ranging from 4.0 to 6.0 kg, and aged 2 to 4 years were randomly selected for this study. The animals were individually kept in stainless cages. They were housed in a standard animal room with a large window under natural daylight conditions and allowed water and food ad libitum. The dogs were divided into the control group (six dogs) and the experimental group (six dogs). As for the treatment in each group, the control group was made to ingest normal saline mixed with canned meat, while the experimental group was made to ingest Fu Zi solution (1 g Fu Zi powder per kg) mixed with canned meat.
2.1. Preparation of the Fu Zi solution
Herbs were purchased from a folk medical drug store in Taian in Shandong province, China. These were placed in an earthenware pot, before being boiled twice. The final concentration of herbs was 1 g Fu Zi powder per milliliter.
2.2. Determination of body heat
In the present study, the infrared thermographic system (IRIS 5000, Medicore, Korea) was used to determine the dogs' body heat. Four regions [7], the dorsocranial (DCr), dorsocaudal (DCd), ventrocranial (VCr), and ventrocaudal (VCd) regions were examined using infrared thermography to determine body heat in the present study. The infrared thermographies were made at pretreatment, and at 10, 20, 30, 50, 90, 120, 240, and 360 minutes after treatment in both control and experimental groups. The room temperature was maintained at 23°C to expel exogenuous factors which could affect animal body heat during thermography. Restraints were done by the grasping of the fore and hind legs of the dogs during the examination.
2.3. Statistical analysis
Significant differences between the control and experimental groups were analyzed using Student's t-test with a database (SPSS v. 10.0, E). Here, p< 0.05 was considered the level of statistically significant result.
3. Results
3.1. Body heat in the DCr regions
The body heat values in the DCr regions showed the tendency to increase until 30 minutes after ingestion of Fu Zi, and then revealed a decreasing regular pattern after such time. It showed a stable pattern in the control group. The body heat levels of the animals in the experimental group were all higher than those in the control group in the DCr regions. However, this body heat increase was deemed insignificant (Figure 1).
Figure 1.
The change of the body heat on the dorsocranial region in Fu Zi.
3.2. Body heat in the DCd regions
The body heat values in the DCd regions also showed the tendency to increase upon ingestion of Fu Zi until 30 minutes, and revealed an irregular decreasing pattern after such time. However, it showed an irregular change in the control group. The significant increase of body heat was detected at 360 minutes (p < 0.05) (Figure 2).
Figure 2.
The change of the body heat on the dorsocaudal region in Fu Zi (*p < 0.05).
3.3. Body heat in the VCr regions
The body heat values in the VCr regions increased until 10 minutes after ingestion in both the experimental and control groups, then decreased irregularly afterwards. A significant difference between the two groups was found at 20 minutes (p < 0.05) (Figure 3).
Figure 3.
The change of the body heat on the ventrocranial region in Fu Zi (*p < 0.05).
3.4. Body heat in the VCd regions
In the experimental group, the body heat levels in the VCd regions showed the tendency to increase until 40 minutes then decreased irregularly afterwards. However, in the control group, the body heat in the VCd regions showed an irregular pattern. Statistical analysis revealed that body heat was significantly increased at 30 minutes between the experimental and control groups (p < 0.05) (Figure 4).
Figure 4.
The change of the body heat on the ventrocaudal region in Fu Zi (*p < 0.05).
4. Discussion
The body temperature is a reflection of the balance between heat gain due to absorption from the environment and metabolic activities and heat loss controlled by the thermoregulatory center in the hypothalamus. The changes in the body temperature are sensed by the hypothalamus [2]. The body temperature responses include increase in heat production by shivering and non-shivering thermogenesis, as well as reduction in heat loss by circulatory adjustments in the skin, muscle, and fat [8].
Recently in human medicine, Augustin et al [9] used an infrared thermographic camera to determine the spatial distribution of increase in bone temperature during drilling. Through the process of thermography they found that the increase in bone temperature spreads through the cortical bone, which is its most compact and dense part, and generates the highest frictional heat during drilling. The medullar cavity, because of its gelatinous structure, contributes only to thermal dissipation. Zaproudina et al [10] thought that the infrared thermography technique may represent an objective quantifiable indicator of autonomic disturbances. He further thought that although there are considerable temporal variations in the measured values due to technical factors, such as equipment accuracy, measurement environment and technique, and physiological variability of the blood flow, these factors should still be taken into account. Watanabe et al [8] stated that altered thermoregulatory function is characteristic in pregnant women with hyperemesis gravidarum. In addition, De Curtis et al [11] reported that the infrared skin thermometer is a comfortable and reliable way of measuring body temperature in newborns.
In animal medicine, Rainwater-Lovett et al [12] considered infrared thermography (IRT) and assessed it as a means of detecting foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV)-infected cattle before and after the development of clinical signs. Lee et al (2006) reported that electroacupuncture analgesia increased body heat in animals contrary to that of ketamine anesthesia. Meanwhile, Seo et al [6] reported that the body temperatures of adult dogs were higher than those of young puppies and that the body temperatures of the ventral regions were higher than those of the dorsal parts.
In this experiment, the results showed that the temperature of the DCr, DCd, VCr, and VCd regions increased after the dogs ingested the Fu Zi solution. The results revealed that (a) no significant difference was found in the DCr regions between the experimental and control groups, yet (b) there were significant differences in body heat changes at 360 minutes in the DCd regions, 20 minutes in the VCr regions and 30 minutes in the VCd regions between the experimental and control groups (p < 0.05). Nevertheless, the mechanism for the increase of body surface temperature after ingesting the Fu Zi solution was not yet clear and might be caused by the special qualities of Fu Zi including heat, reviving Yang, and helping Yang diffuse cold. It is thus necessary to conduct further research in this area.
In conclusion, the effect of Fu Zi on changes in the body surface temperature in dogs was demonstrated in the present study. The results of the study showed that Fu Zi could increase and maintain the dogs' body heat for up to at least 6 hours.
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PII: S2005-2901(09)60018-2
doi:10.1016/S2005-2901(09)60018-2
© 2009 Korean Pharmacopuncture Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Volume 2, Issue 1 , Pages 71-74, March 2009
