Homeopathy & Ayurvedic Medicine Jessica, J Homeop Ayurv Med 2013, 2:3 DOI: 10.4172/2167-1206.1000129 Open Access Review Article Volume 2 • Issue 3 • 1000129 J Homeop Ayurv Med, an open access journal ISSN: 2167-1206 Standardization of Traditional Chinese Medicine and its Treatment Effects of Acupuncture on Obesity and Adipokines Involved in Body Weight Control García-Vivas Jessica 1 , González-González Roberto 2 , García-Cardona Ma. Del Carmen 3 , López-Camarillo César 4 and Marchat Laurence A 1,3 * 1 Doctorado en Biotecnología en Red, Escuela Nacional de Medicina y Homeopatía del IPN, Guillermo Massieu Helguera #239, Fracc. La Escalera, Ticoman, México D.F., C.P. 07320, México 2 Especialidad de Acupuntura Humana, Escuela Nacional de Medicina y Homeopatía del IPN, Guillermo Massieu Helguera #239, Fracc. La Escalera, Ticoman, México D.F., C.P. 07320, México 3 Programa Institucional de Biomedicina Molecular, Escuela Nacional de Medicina y Homeopatía del IPN, Guillermo Massieu Helguera #239, Fracc. La Escalera, Ticoman, México D.F., C.P. 07320, México 4 Posgrado en Ciencias Genómicas, Universidad Autónoma de la Ciudad de México, San Lorenzo #290, Col. del Valle, México D.F., C.P. 03110, México Abstract Obesity is a worldwide disease that results from a deregulation of energy balance and changes in adipokines and other molecules with metabolic relevance. Pharmacological treatments for obesity are often associated to drug adverse effects. Among alternative and complementary therapeutic methods for obesity treatment, Traditional Chinese Medicine and particularly acupuncture that have been practiced for thousands of years in China, have been increasingly used for the effcient control of body weight without producing negative side effects and weight regain. Several works have suggested that the effects of acupuncture may be related to hypothalamus stimulation, which may regulate the production of some proteins involved in food intake and energy expenditure balance. In this review, we present the main results of English publications obtained from PubMed database as well as data from works published in original Chinese language. These reports describe the clinical effectiveness of acupuncture as a treatment for obesity. They also provide evidence about the regulation of the principal adipokines related to obesity, namely leptin and adiponectin, as well as other relevant biochemical molecules. Although further well-designed and controlled studies are required, this knowledge contributes to gain some insight in the mechanisms underlying the effect of acupuncture for obesity treatment. *Corresponding author: Dr. Laurence A. Marchat, Programa Institucional de Biomedicina Molecular, Escuela Nacional de Medicina y Homeopatía del IPN, Guillermo Massieu Helguera #239, Fracc. La Escalera, Ticoman, México D.F., C.P. 07320, México, Tel: (52 55) 5729 6300 ext. 55543; E-mail: lmarchat@gmail.com, lmarchat@ipn.mx Received July 04, 2013; Accepted August 17, 2013; Published August 24, 2013 Citation: Garcia-Vivas J, Gonzalez-Gonzalez R, Garcia-Cardona M, Lopez- Camarillo C, Marchat LA (2013) Effects of Acupuncture on Obesity and Adipokines Involved in Body Weight Control. J Homeop Ayurv Med 2: 129. doi:10.4172/2167- 1206.1000129 Copyright: © 2013 Garcia-Vivas J, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Keywords: Acupuncture; Adiponectin; Body weight control; Infammation; Leptin; Obesity; Traditional Chinese Medicine Abbreviations: ACOX: Acyl-CoA Oxidase; AGRP: Agouti-Related Peptide; α-MSH: α-Melanocyte-Stimulating Hormone; BE: Beta Endorphin; BMI: Body Mass Index; CART: Amphetamine-Related Transcript; CNS: Central Nervous System; CSF: Cerebrospinal Fluid; DIO rat: Diet-Induced Obese Rat; EA: Electro Acupuncture; FFA: Free Fatty Acid; HDL: High Density Lipoprotein; Hsp: Heat Shock Protein; LDL: Low Density Lipoprotein; MCP-1: Monocyte Chemoattractant Protein-1; NPY: Neuropeptide Y; NRF 1: Nuclear Respiratory Factor 1; PGC-1α: Peroxisome Proliferator-Actived Receptor Coactivator- 1α; POMC: Pro-Opiomelacortin; PPAR γ: Peroxisome Proliferator- Activated Receptor γ; SIRT1: Skeletal Sirtuin 1 Protein; TCM: Traditional Chinese Medicine; TNF α: Tumor Necrosis Factor α; WAT: White Adipose Tissue Introduction Obesity is a global public health problem that presents the characteristics of a pandemic due to its rapidly increasing incidence [1-3]. Notably obesity promotes hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia and hyperleptinemia, as well as glucose intolerance and insulin resistance [4] that are part of the metabolic syndrome [3,5,6]. It also represents a risk for degenerative illnesses, including coronary diseases, heart attack, infertility, erectile dysfunction, arthropathies, neuropathies, as well as colon, prostate, endometrial and breast cancer [7]. Tese obesity-related diseases cause an excessive economic cost and represent the main causes of death worldwide. Together with a balanced diet and physical exercise, anti-obesity drugs and surgery processes can help patients to lose weight. However, they usually produce adverse efects and weight regain is very common if patients do not strictly follow nutritional recommendations and come back to their sedentary life style. Terefore, there is an increasing interest in alternative and complementary therapeutic methods for obesity treatment. Among these, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and particularly acupuncture that have been practiced for thousands years in China, represent a suitable therapeutic approach for individuals with obesity, without producing negative side efects and weight regain. Tis review describes the main metabolic pathways involved in body weight regulation, with an emphasis in leptin and adiponectin adipokines that are essential for the control of food intake and energy expenditure balance. It also describes the clinical efectiveness of acupuncture treatment for obesity and provides evidence about the efects on these adipokines and other relevant biochemical parameters, from extensive analyses of English articles published in PubMed database, as well as works published in original Chinese language in acupuncture and TCM journals. Obesity Obesity is defned as an abnormal increase of fatty acids storage in an expanded adipose tissue mass [3] and accumulation of ectopic fat, which is associated to an increased number and size of adipocytes as a result of passive overconsumption of high-fat and carbohydrates- rich diets, and low physical activity. Tis energy imbalance is due to numerous physiological, psychological, socioeconomic, cultural, emotional, metabolic and genetic factors, whose complex roles are not fully understood yet [8,9]. At cellular level, obesity is also related