Current situation and thinking on the intestinal microflora regulation with acupuncture and moxibustion

Abstract

Large number of microflora is parasitized in the human intestinal tract, which maintains the stability of the microecological environment in the host's intestinal tract and the healthy state of the body. Once the steady state is out of balance, the intestinal microflora is dysfunctional and a variety of diseases will be induced. Acupuncture and moxibustion have a positive role in improving different types of clinical problems by regulating qi, harmonizing yin and yang, and strengthening the body's resistance. At present, researches on the effect of acupuncture and moxibustion interventions on intestinal microflora mainly focuses on the following aspects 1) adjusting the count and proportion of the intestinal microflora to recover its stability, 2) improving gastrointestinal motility disorder by promoting the interaction between intestinal microflora and brain-gut axis (brain-gut peptides), and ameliorating the intestinal barrier function by reducing levels of proinflammatory cytokines to suppress inflammatory reactions. In the future, the research should pay more attention to the holistic regulatory function of acupuncture and moxibustion, the acupoint specificity, acupoint combination and different intervention measures, as well as the optimization of clinical regimen, so as to better intestinal microflora regulation.