" Liver Health = Emotional Stability" Traditional Korean Medicine Theory Proven by Animal Experiments

Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine Observes Behavioral Changes in Mice Related to Acupuncture Treatment
Depression Improvement and Increased Activity Confirmed Only in Real Treatment Group, Along with Recovery of Liver Lipid Metabolism Symptoms

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] The traditional Korean medicine theory that liver health is directly linked to mental health issues such as depression has been scientifically proven through animal experiments.

The Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine announced on the 10th that Dr. Ji-yeon Jeong's research team from the Department of Clinical Medicine identified the antidepressant effects of acupuncture treatment through animal experiments. The team also confirmed that along with the improvement of depression, abnormal symptoms related to liver lipid metabolism were recovered, providing scientific evidence for the traditional Korean medicine theory of ‘Ganjusoseol’ (肝主疏泄), which suggests a connection between liver function and emotional activity.

The study results were published in the international journal Brain, Behavior and Immunity (Impact Factor 6.633).

In traditional Korean medicine, the liver (肝), which plays a role in the metabolism and storage of various nutrients, is described by the theory of Ganjusoseol (肝主疏泄), which holds that it is closely related to emotional (affective) activities. Treatments linked to the liver are sometimes used for mental illness. This theory posits that the liver governs the functions of communication and excretion (疏泄), and that emotional activity, digestive function, disease onset, and menstrual irregularities are influenced by the liver’s疏泄 function.

To verify the scientific basis of the Ganjusoseol theory, the research team conducted animal experiments. Depression-induced rats were divided into three groups: an untreated control group, a real acupuncture treatment group, and a sham acupuncture group where needles were applied to false acupoints. Behavioral changes were observed. The acupuncture treatment involved the use of the Ganjeonggyeok (肝正格) method, which targets acupoints such as Eumgok (陰谷) and Gokcheon (曲泉) to protect or balance the liver’s energy and treat mental illnesses like depression, administered over seven days.

As a result, the depression-induced rats exhibited typical depressive behaviors such as reduced movement. In contrast, the real acupuncture group showed approximately a 36% increase in total movement distance in the Open Field Test and about a 76% increase in behavioral responses in the Marble Burying Test. The sham acupuncture group showed only slight improvement without statistically significant results.

The research team further analyzed the physiological responses occurring in the animals’ bodies, focusing on the liver, to determine whether the antidepressant effects of acupuncture were indeed related to the liver and what effects it had.

Only the acupuncture treatment group showed distinctive changes in liver lipid profiles. Notably, the levels of ‘highly unsaturated lipids,’ which had decreased due to depression, increased, and the liver enzyme AST level (commonly known as liver function marker) improved by about 32%. Highly unsaturated lipids are known to play a positive role in the body, such as lowering plasma cholesterol. The levels of inflammatory factors related to depression caused by liver lipid metabolism problems (IL-1β, TNF-α, COX-2) decreased, especially in the spleen, which is responsible for systemic immunity, where they dropped by more than 40%.

The team also examined changes in substances occurring in the brain and body of the experimental rats to understand the mechanism by which acupuncture simultaneously improved depression and liver lipid metabolism. Leptin receptor activity, known as a mediator affecting both depression induction and liver lipid metabolism, increased 1.7 times compared to the control group. This led to a significant reduction in leptin resistance compared to the control group, confirming simultaneous improvement in depression and liver function.

Dr. Ji-yeon Jeong, the lead researcher, explained, “It is meaningful that we have not only identified the antidepressant effects of acupuncture, a representative treatment method in traditional Korean medicine, but also provided scientific evidence for the ‘Ganjusoseol’ theory.”

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