Analysis of the Spectral Characteristics of Pure Moxa Stick Burning by Hyperspectral Imaging and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy

The objective of this study was to investigate the spectra characteristics (SC) at wavelengths of 400~1000 nm and 2.5~15.5 μm of pure moxa stick (MS) during its 25-minute burning process using new spectral imaging techniques. Spectral images were collected for the burning pure MS at 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 min using hyperspectral imaging (HSI) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) for the first time. The results showed that, at wavelengths of 400~1000 nm, the spectral range of the cross section of MS burning was 750~980 nm; the peak position was 860 nm. At wavelengths of 2.5~15.5 μm, the spectral range of the cross section of MS burning was 3.0~4.0 μm; the peak position was approximately 3.5 μm. The radiation spectra of MS burning include litter red and amount of infrared (but mainly near infrared) wavelengths. The temperature, blood perfusion, and oxygen saturation increase of Shenshu (BL23) after moxibustion radiation were observed too. According to mechanism of photobiological effects and moxibustion biological effects, it was inferred that moxibustion effects should be linked with moxibustion SC. This study provided new data and means for physical properties of moxibustion research.