Objective:Toobservetheinfluenceofelectroacupuncture(EA)atdifferenttimeinadayonthenumberofduodenalendocrinecells(argentaffincells)inrats.Methods:Forty-eightmaleWistarratswereevenlyrandomizedintocontrolandelectroacupuncture(EA)groupswhichwerefurtherpidedinto5∶00,11∶00,17∶00and23∶00subgroupsrespectively.EA(4-16Hzinthefrequency,3Vinthestrength,intermittentdense-sparsewaves,anddurationof20min)wasappliedtobilateral"Huantiao"(环跳GB30)at5∶00o'clock,11∶00o'clock,17∶00o'clockand23∶00o'clockseparatelyfordifferentsubgroups.AfterEA,theanimalswerekilledatonceforsamplingthemiddlepartofduodenumwhichwasfixedin10%formalinfor2hours,thenembedinparaffin.Thetissuewascutintosections(10μm),mountedonglassslidesandthenprocessedaccordingtoGrimelius'smethods.Results:ThenumberofargentaffincellsinEAgroupwassignificantlyfewerthanthatincontrolgroupatthesametime-window(23∶00,P<0.05).NosignificantdifferenceswerefoundbetweencontrolandEAgroupsinthenumberofcellsatothertimewindow(5∶00,11∶00and17∶00o'clock,P>0.05),suggestingthatEAof"Huantiao"canmarkedlypromotethesecretionactivityofendocrinecellsat11∶00o'clockduringnight.Conclusion:TheresultssuggestthattheeffectsofEAaredifferentatdifferenttimewindowinaday.
