Experimental studies of effects of acupuncture on enterochromaffin cells: guinea pig enterochromaffin cell count after electro-acupuncture.

Guinea pig acupuncture points located on the back of the animal, cranial and caudal to the last rib in the muscular groove between longissimus dorsi and iliocostalis, were treated by electro-acupuncture (EA). In the duodenum, when compared with the control, the EA-treated group showed a significant decrease of its enterochromaffin (EC) cell count. However, the sham-treated group also had a lower EC cell count compared to the control. Decreased EC counts were also observed in the jejunum and colon in both EA and sham treated groups; however, they were not significant except in the sham-treated colon. The present study demonstrated that in the normal guinea pigs electro-acupuncture on certain points tends to cause a decrease of the EC cell count in some parts of the gut; however, such results cannot be completely attributed to the effect of acupuncture.