| Moxibustion therapy is a conventional therapy of traditional Chinese medicine, which uses ignited moxa wool as the material to stimulate acupuncture points by warming. Moxibustion has the effects of warming channels and collaterals, dispelling stasis and promoting blood circulation. It has a broad range of clinical applications and is widely used as a form of external therapy to treat and prevent diseases, especially in the treatment of chronic and complicated diseases.Most current studies on moxibustion are focused on clinical trials and on understanding the thermal properties of moxibustion. However, as the usage of moxibustion increases along with improvements in living standards, people are becoming more concerned about the safety aspects of moxa smoke generated during moxibustion. Few studies have been done on moxa smoke and to date, no study has been found regarding the effects of inhalable particulate matter (PM10) of moxa smoke on human health.This dissertation studies the pollution level, morphological characteristics of particles, particle size distribution, morphological and chemical characteristics of single particles and composition of trace elements using PM10 samples collected during moxibustion in moxibustion consulting rooms. The safety aspects are investigated by studying the oxidative damage to plasmid DNA.The results are as follows:1. Samples for PM10w ere collected from moxibustion consulting rooms during summer and winter in 2011. The mass concentration of PM10 showed that particulate matter concentration was the highest in moxibustion consulting room, followed by the outdoor and non-moxibustion indoor samples. Moxibustion consulting rooms have a higher particulate matter concentration that is independent of the season. Analysis of the indoor/outdoor (I/O) PM10 concentration ratio showed that the I/O ratio of moxibustion consulting rooms was greater than 1, which may be attributed to the combustion products generated during the moxibustion process.2. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) was used to analyze the morphological characteristics of PM10. Four types of major particles were identified, namely spherical particles, mineral particles, soot aggregates and ultrafine unidentified particles. The proportion of spherical particles in winter was lower than that in summer; however it had the highest proportion in moxibustion consulting rooms both in summer and winter. This may be due to the chemical reactions that occurred during moxibustion and also with the indoors humidity level. The size of the spherical particles in moxibustion consulting rooms was between 0.5～0.8μm. The analysis of PM10 for outdoors showed that the spherical particles constituted the largest proportion in the summer sampling, with a size distribution between 0.5～0.8μm; while ultrafine unidentified particles constituted the largest proportion in the winter sampling, with a size distribution between 0.2～0.3μm. Mineral particles contributed the most in terms of volume in the sampling for outdoors and moxibustion consulting rooms, with a size distribution between 1～2.5μm.3. The analysis of trace elements showed that the concentration of trace elements for both whole and water-soluble samples was the lowest in moxibustion consulting rooms for summer. For winter, the concentration of trace elements for whole samples was the lowest in moxibustion consulting rooms, while that for water-soluble trace elements was the lowest in the outdoor samples. The concentration of heavy metal elements such as Fe, Mg, Zn, Na and Al was higher in the PM10 analysis of whole samples collected in summer for all three sampling points of moxibustion consulting rooms, non-moxibust ion indoors and outdoors. Zn and Na elements had a higher concentration in water-soluble samples. The concentration of water-soluble Ni, Pb and Cd were the highest in the whole samples collected from moxibustion consulting rooms in summer, while the concentration of Zn, Cd and Cs were the highest in the whole samples collected from non-moxibustion indoor and outdoor samples. For winter samples, the concentration of heavy metals such as Fe, Mg, Na and Al was relatively higher, of which the concentration of Na was the highest in the samples for moxibustion consul ting rooms and non-moxibustion indoors, while Zn was the highest for outdoor samples.Enrichment factor (EF) analysis showed that the trace elements of Zn, Cd, Pb and Cu in the PM10 of moxibustion consulting rooms, non-moxibustion indoor and outdoor samples had EF values greater than 10, while the EF values of Co, Ni, Mn, Mg and Na were smaller than 10. The differences in metallic trace elements in the PM10 of moxibustion consulting rooms at different seasons may be due primarily to moxa smoke and secondarily to air composition such as dust. The sources of the particulate matter in moxibustion consulting rooms come from a combination of moxibustion combustion products, human activities and lastly from the earth's crust.4. The tests for plasmid DNA damage showed that the PM10 of moxibustion consulting rooms caused the least damage to plasmid DNA for both whole and water-soluble samples. The TD40 value was bigger for the samples collected from moxibustion consulting rooms, which meant that the toxicity of the particulate matter in moxibustion consulting rooms was smal ler than that inother environments. The PM10 of moxibustion consulting rooms was added to the non-moxibustion indoor and outdoor samples and it was found that the plasmid DNA damaging effects were lowered. Analysis was done between TD40 values and air quality, and it showed a correlation between TD40 values and PM10 air quality for moxibustion consulting rooms, which had differing results as compared to the other two sampling points. The results showed that the PM10 of moxibustion consulting rooms have antioxidant effects towards plasmid DNA and air disinfection effects.
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