Comparison of effects of vitamin E and wen-jing-tang (unkei-to), an herbal medicine, on peripheral blood flow in post-menopausal women with chilly sensation in the lower extremities: a randomized prospective study

Abstract

We examined the association between blood flow and chilly sensation in the lower extremities, comparing the changes in blood flow induced by the vitamin E and herbal therapy (Wen-jing-tang) in perimenopausal women with chilly sensation. One hundred sixty-one perimenopausal women aged 42-61 years (mean: 50.4 +/- 3.8 years) with chilly sensation in the lower extremities participated in the study. The participants were randomized for treatment with Wen-jing-tang or a vitamin E preparation containing 600 mg tocopherol nictinate per day for 8 weeks. Blood flow measurement was performed by laser Doppler fluxmetry to determine tissue under the jaw, in the middle finger, and in the third toe. Wen-jing-tang significantly increased the peripheral blood flow in the skin surface in the tiptoe (12.8 +/- 8.8, p = 0.0068) from basal levels (6.0 +/- 5.1), although no significant change was observed in the blood flow in fingertip or under the jaw during treatment. The rate of increase of blood flow in the skin surface of in the lower extremities was significantly higher in the Wen-jing-tang treating group (116.4 +/- 46.5%) than in the vitamin E group (39.8 +/- 21.3%) (p < 0.0001). When the effects of herbal treatment and vitamin E treatment were compared in the subjects with baseline upper extremity blood flow above the mean + 1.5 SD, mean blood flow through the upper extremities was found to have been significantly decreased after Wen-jing-tang treatment (from 57.7 +/- 4.8 to 43.1 +/- 4.2, p = 0.0277), whereas it remained unchanged after treatment with vitamin E. Classical monographs described Wen-jing-tang as being particularly useful in curing chilly sensation in lower extremities. The present study using a laser Doppler fluxmeter demonstrated that treatment with this herbal medicine significantly increased blood flow through the periphery of lower extremities in patients with chilly sensation. It also showed that this herbal medicine suppresses excessive blood flow through the upper half of the body and thus stimulates restoration of physiological distribution of blood flow throughout the entire body.