[Identification of Ginseng and its counterfeit by laser Raman spectroscopy].

The objective of the present study is to identify Ginseng and its false sample: Anthriscus sylvestris, Radix glehniae and balloonflower root by Laser Raman spectroscopy, second derivative Raman spectroscopy. The structural information of the samples indicated that Ginseng and its false samples contains a large amount of carbohydrates, since some characteristic vibration peaks of the carbohydrates, such 1 640, 1 432, 1 130, 1 086, 942, 483 cm(-'1) can be observed. The characteristic vibration peak of Radix glehniae which arouse at 2 206 cm(-1) in the aman spectra, totally different from the other three kinds of traditional Chinese medicines. Anthriscus sylvestris appeare the characteristic vibration peak in 1 050 cm(-1) and the corresponding 1 869 cm(-1) because of the chain ester compounds. The characteristic vibration peak of balloonflower root, such as 1 227, 691, 600 cm(-1) can be observed, significantly different from the other three herbs in the Raman spectra. Further more, the previous identification results can be verified again with second derivative Raman spectroscopy. This identification method is more fast, convenient, and keeping the integrity of the samples than the routine spectroscopic method.

Specificity of auricular acupoints in reflecting changes of qi and blood measured by diffuse reflectance spectroscopy.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the specificity of auricular acupoints in responding to changes of qi and blood which, in traditional Chinese medicine, are considered as the fundamental substances in the human body for sustaining normal vital activity. METHODS: A miniature fiber optic system was used to invasively measure the diffuse reflectance spectra of three auricular acupoints, namely, Uterus (TF2), Gan (CO12) and Neifenmi (CO18), at different stages of menstruation, when the female body exhibits regular changes of qi and blood. The spectra of different acupoints were compared to find their difference in responding changes of qi and blood, especially the reflectivity of absorption peaks of hemoglobin. RESULTS: The reflectivity of the same auricular acupoint during menstruation is higher than that before and after menstruation, and this trend is more obvious for the Uterus point compared with the points Gan and Neifenmi. The average reflectivity of the Uterus point during menstruation was significantly higher than that before or after menstruation (P<0.01). The D-values during and after menstruation of the Uterus point were greater than those of the points Gan and Neifenmi at 544.06 and 577.47 nm, respectively (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The diffuse reflectance light of auricular acupoints changes as qi and blood fluctuates, and there is relative specificity among different auricular acupoints in reflecting changes of qi and blood. The Uterus point may be the most sensitive auricular acupoint in reflecting uterus function and subsequent changes of qi and blood.

[Influence of brightness value of supranasal point and apex nasi on dominant wavelength and excitation purity in complexion inspection of healthy adults].

OBJECTIVE: In this study, to analyze the influence of the brightness value of the supranasal point and the apex nasi on their dominant wavelength and excitation purity according to the spectrocolorimetry data of the supranasal point and the apex nasi in healthy adults that were collected based on optical spectrum colorimetry. METHODS: A total of 516 healthy adults were taken as the research subjects. The brightness, dominant wavelength and excitation purity values of the supranasal point and the apex nasi during the complexion inspection of subjects were calculated. This was based on the visible reflection spectrum, and the linear correlation/regression analysis between the brightness Y value and the dominant wavelength or excitation purity value. RESULTS: There was no correlation between the brightness Y value and the dominant wavelength of the normal supranasal point and the apex nasi; however, there was negative correlation between the brightness Y value and the excitation purity of the normal supranasal point and apex nasi. CONCLUSION: During the complexion inspection, the brightness Y value would not influence the dominant wavelength value, indicating that whiteness and/or blackness would not influence the normal individual complexion. However, the brightness Y value would influence the excitation purity of the supranasal point and the apex nasi, and the degree of saturation should be referred to as the brightness. This research provides a basic reference for diagnosing facial complexion in traditional Chinese medicine.

[Comparative study of reflectance spectroscopy of women's acupoints around menstruation].

Acupoint was reaction of viscera and its optical parameter was an important characteristic of tissue. In the present work, in order to discuss specificity of acupuncture on the response of qi and blood in human body, we compared the diffuse reflectance of Taichong (LV3), Taibai (SP3), and Chongyang (ST42) before, during and after menstruation. All the acupoints had the same shape of the spectrum and troughs were all at 423.16, 544.06 and 577.47 nm. The values of reflectance during menstruation were greater than before and after menstruation, especially for SP3 and ST42 (P < 0.05). SP3 and ST42 were more sensitive to the changes of qi and blood than LV3, and it was asymmetric and we found no evidence for the imbalance of the left side and right. These results indicated that acupoint diffuse reflectance changed with qi and blood, and that SP3 and ST42 had close relationship with menstruation. Diffuse reflectance may be possibly used in the quantitative analysis of qi and blood.

[Comparative study of reflectance spectroscopy of human laogong acupoint and non-acupoint tissues irradiated by near-infrared laser].

Characteristics and differences of reflectance spectroscopy of human Laogong acupoint and non-acupoint tissues before and after irradiation by different power of laser were studied in the spectral range from 400 to 1 000 nm. A wavelength 808 nm semiconductor laser was used for irradiation at the power of 20, 50 and 100 mW for ten minutes. Reflectance spectra of human Laogong acupoint and non-acupoint tissues were measured by using an AvaSpec-2048 optical fiber spectroscopy with an integrating sphere attachment. The result shows that before irradiation the shape of the reflectance spectra of Laogong acupoint and non-acupoint is similar, they have the same troughs at 423, 544, 577 and 980 nm, and the reflectance for Laogong acupoint and non-acupoint at these wavelengths is 17.1%, 26.1%, 25.9% and 35.0%, and 17.1%, 27.6%, 28.1% and 36.5% respectively. But from 475 to 1 000 nm, the reflectance of Laogong acupoint is smaller than that of non-acupoint. After being irradiated by semiconductor laser at the power of 20, 50 and 100 mW, there is a very significant decrease in the reflectance of Laogong acupoint compared to that before irradiation, and the higher the power, the lower the reflectance. But there is just a small decrease in the reflectance for non-acupoint compared to that before irradiation. From the above results, it is clearly seen that Laogong acupoint is different from non-acupoint on reflectance spectroscopy, and Laogong acupoint is more sensitive to laser irradiation than non-acupoint tissue.