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Abstract Background As it has been recorded in ancient Chinese classics, Yanglingquan (GB34) and Dannangxue (EX-LE6) are two important acupoints that can regulate the function of the gallbladder. Acupuncture at these two acupoints is considered particularly effective for gallbladder disease treatment, especially for alleviating gallbladder stone disease (GSD) symptoms that can be aggravated after intaking high-fat food. However, the superior effect between the two acupoints still needs to be further explored, as well as the underlying central mechanism has never been investigated to date. Methods and design Ninety participants diagnosed with GSD will be randomly divided into group A (acupuncture at GB34), group B (acupuncture at EX-LE6), and group C (acupuncture at non-acupoint) in a ratio of 1:1:1. All of them will receive a 30-min acupuncture treatment with fatty-food cues being presented before and after acupuncture. During the task, participants will be scanned by MRI and required to rate their desire for high-/low-fat food with an 11-point Likert scale. Additionally, the participants’ pain/discomfort sensation will be evaluated using the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) at four timepoints, including before the 1st task fMRI scan, before and after acupuncture, and after the 2nd task fMRI scan. For both behavior and fMRI data, the ANOVA analysis will be conducted among three groups to testify the immediate effect of GB34 and EX-LE6. The post hoc t-test will be employed to further explore the superiority between acupuncture with GB34 and EX-LE6. Furthermore, correlation analyses will be conducted to investigate a possible correlation between neural changes and clinical data. Discussion In comparison to the non-acupoint, the results will firstly explore the superior effect between acupuncture with GB34 and EX-LE6 on GSD patients by observing their behavioral and neural response change to fatty-food cue, and then to investigate the underlying central mechanism. Trial registration Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR2000034368 . Registered on 3 July 2020.

IntroductionAcupuncture is an efficacious and safe treatment choice for migraine prevention. Results from clinical trials have shown that non-specific effects play an important role in acupuncture's efficacy. To date, however, there is no evidence available quantitatively evaluating the effect of non-specific effects, such as patients' expectations and beliefs for acupuncturists, on acupuncture efficacy, necessitating further exploration.MethodsA total of 156 patients with migraine without aura (MwoA) will be randomized to either junior or senior acupuncturist group, at a ratio of 1:1. The study will last 24 weeks, for each patient, comprising baseline, treatment, and follow-up phases lasting 4, 8, and 12 weeks, respectively. All patients will undergo 12 sections of acupuncture treatment delivered by either a junior or senior acupuncturist following the same acupuncture prescription and manipulation. The primary outcomes will be changes in the number of migraine days and frequency of attacks per 4 weeks cycle, relative to the baseline. Secondary outcomes will include severity of headache pain, quality of life, anxiety/depression levels, and use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) per 4 weeks cycle, compared to the baseline, as well as adverse events and rate of positive response to treatment. Prior to randomization of patients into junior or senior acupuncturist groups, the Acupuncture Expectations Evaluation Scale (AES) will be used to evaluate their expectations and belief with regards to acupuncture efficacy delivered by senior or junior acupuncturists.DiscussionResults from this clinical randomized controlled trial will help to quantitatively evaluate the extent of the effect of acupuncture treatment delivered by a senior or junior acupuncturist (high relative to low expectations) in migraine patients.Ethics and DisseminationThis trial has been approved by the Institutional Review Boards and Ethics Committees of Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (Approval No. 2020KL-058).

BACKGROUND: Water is generally considered to be a safe and green solvent suitable for use in natural product extraction. In this study, an eco‐friendly subcritical water method was used to extract pectin from waste jackfruit peel (JFP‐S), which was compared with pectin obtained by the traditional citric acid method (JFP‐C). RESULTS: The extraction process was optimized using response surface methodology (RSM), and the optimum process parameters were as follows: extraction temperature 138 °C, extraction time 9.15 min, liquid / solid (L/S) ratio 17.03 mL g−1. Under these conditions, the pectin yield was 149.6 g kg−1 (dry basis). Pectin obtained from the two extraction methods displayed a high degree of esterification and the monosaccharide composition was consistent. The galacturonic acid content of JFP‐S and JFP‐C was 52.27% and 56.99%, respectively. JFP‐S had more hairy regions and side chains than JFP‐C. The molecular weight of JFP‐S was 113.3 kDa, which was significantly lower than that of JFP‐C (174.3 kDa). Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) indicated that two samples had similar pectin typical absorption peaks. According to differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), both JFP‐S and JFP‐C had relatively good thermal stability. JFP‐S demonstrated lower apparent viscosity and elasticity than JFP‐C. Meanwhile, the G′ and G′′ moduli of JFP‐S were lower, which found expression in the gel textural characterization of the samples. CONCLUSION: This work showed that the subcritical water method is an efficient, time‐saving, and eco‐friendly technology for the extraction of pectin from jackfruit peel compared with the traditional citric acid method. The physicochemical properties of pectin could be changed during subcritical water extraction. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]