Objective To observe the effect of high-frequency electroacupuncture(EA) on lipid metabolism in obesity rats.Methods Fifty-one SD rats were randomized into control group(n=13)

model group(n=19) and EA group(n=19).Obesity model was duplicated by feeding the rats with high fat forage and subcutaneous injection of 15% glutamate sodium solution.EA(100 Hz

3-5 mA) was applied to "Housanli"(ST 36)

"Sanyinjiao"(SP 6)

"Guanyuan"(CV 4) and "Zhongwan"(CV 12) for 10 min everyday and for 28 days.Lee's index

body weight

area and the number of the adipose cells around the left kidney were detected.Blood samples were collected for assaying serum triglyceride(TG)

total cholesterol(TC) with cholesterol oxidase phenol 4-aminoantipyrine peroxidase(CHOD-PAP) method

glycerol phosphate oxidase-p-aminophenazone(GPO-PAP) methods

high density lipid-cholesterol(HDL-C) with phosphotungstic acid-Mg2+ method

low density lipid-cholesterol(LDL-C) with polyvingel sulfate(PVS) sedimentation method and plasma lipoprotein lipase(LPL) with immunoturbidmetry endpoint method

and serum insulin and leptin contents with radioimmunoassay respectively.Results After modeling

in comparison with control group

Lee's index

serum TG

TC

LDL-C

fat weight

adipose cell area

serum leptin and insulin contents in model group increased considerably(P<0.05

0.01)

while serum HDL-C

plasma LPL

adipose cell number decreased significantly(P<0.05

0.01).Following EA

compared with model group

Lee's index

serum TG

TC

LDL-C

fat weight

adipose cell area

serum leptin and insulin levels decreased significantly in EA group(P<0.05

0.01)

whereas serum HDL-C

plasma LPL

and adipose cell number increased apparently(P<0.01).Conclusion High frequency EA can effectively improve abnormal lipid metabolism

and reduce fat accumulation in obesity rats

which may be closely associated with its effect in regulating the balance between leptin and insulin levels.