Effects of Intracellular Superoxide Removal at Acupoints with TAT-SOD on Obesity

TAT-SOD is a recombinant protein of superoxide dismutase fused with TAT peptide. By pure accident, we discovered that topical application of TAT-SOD to acupoints could result in acupuncture-like action. This study aimed to validate the accidental discovery by investigating the effect on simple obesity of the topical application of TAT-SOD to acupoints in comparison with acupuncture. 90 subjects were divided into 3 groups for 12-week treatments. Regular hospital acupuncture treatment was given to Acupuncture Group 3 times a week. TAT-SOD Group were instructed first to locate acupoints and apply 0.1 ml of 5000u SOD/ml TAT-SOD cream in an area of 1 cm2 to each of the same set of acupoints, which they then conducted at home three times daily. Placebo Group applied the vehicle cream the same manner as TAT-SOD Group. Both TAT-SOD and acupuncture treatments decreased adiposity with overall clinical effective rates of 60.0% and 76.7%, respectively. The placebo group showed no improvement. The results validate that the enzymatic removal of the intracellular superoxide at acupoints could generate acupuncture-like effects, and indicate a possibility of the new method as a simple substitute to acupuncture and an insight of superoxide modulation along meridians for acupuncture mechanism.