Assessing the effects of Kampo medicine on human skin texture and microcirculation

Abstract

In this study, we verified the effectiveness of Kampo medicine by evaluating the changes in the feature values of facial skin texture and microcirculation at two distinct tissue depths (subcutaneous 2 mm and 8 mm). A total of 80 patients who took the Kampo formula participated in this study, and the changes in the feature values of facial skin texture and microcirculation were measured before and after Kampo treatment. The treatment period lasted 6–18 months, according to the doctor’s judgment. The total area of the sulci cutis and the average thickness of the sulci cutis significantly decreased ( P < 0.05), and the pixels of the grayscale image increased after Kampo treatment ( P < 0.05). Moreover, the blood flow velocity at 8 mm depth significantly increased after Kampo treatment ( P < 0.05). In this study, we specifically noted changes in the skin texture and microcirculation after Kampo treatment.