Astragalus mongholicus herb by Ray Sahelian, M.D. A review of research studies and use in clinical medicine April 20 2014
Astragalus Mongholicus composition
For a list of herbs used in Chinese medicine, see Chinese Herbs.
Astragalus Mongholicus properties
Astragalus mongholicus may be useful in nephrotic syndrome.
Chemical analysis of Radix Astragali (Huangqi) in China: a comparison with its adulterants and seasonal variations.
J Agric Food Chem. 2002.
Radix Astragali (root of Huangqi) is a popular traditional Chinese medicine, and Astragalus membranaceus and A. membranaceus var. mongolicus are two commonly used species; however, there are many Astragalus species that could act as adulterants of Radix Astragali.
To find the chemical composition of Radix Astragali, the main constituents including flavonoids, saponins, polysaccharides, amino acids, and trace elements were determined in two Radices Astragali, A. membranaceus and A. membranaceus var. mongolicus, and its eight adulterants, Astragalus propinquus, Astragalus lepsensis, Astragalus aksuensis, Astragalus hoantchy, Astragalus hoantchy subsp. dshimensis, Astragalus lehmannianus, sieversianus, and Astragalus austrosibiricus. The results showed that the amounts of main constituents such as isoflavonoids and astragalosides varied in different species. In distinction, A. membranaceus and A. membranaceus var. mongolicus contained a higher amount of astragaloside I and IV. In addition, the main constituents of A. membranaceus var.mongholicus changed according to seasonal variation and age of the plant. The chemical composition of different species of Astragalus would provide useful information for the quality control of Radix Astragali.
Kidney health
Astragalus mongholicus and Angelica sinensis compound alleviates nephrotic hyperlipidemia in rats.
Chin Med J. 2000.
To investigate the mechanism of lipid-lowering effect of the Astragalus mongholicus and Angelica sinensis compound on nephrotic hyperlipidemia in rats. Astragalus mongholicus and Angelica sinensis alleviate hyperlipidemia considerably in nephrotic rats. Astragalus mongholicus and Angelica sinensis improve disorders of lipid metabolism perhaps through up-regulating the expression of hepatic LDL-R gene and through increasing the activities of serum LPL and LCAT.
Liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry study of the flavonoids of the roots of Astragalus mongholicus and A. membranaceus.
J Chromatogr A. 2000.
Research Laboratory of Natural Products Chemistry, A.M. Todd Botanicals, Eugene, OR,
High-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry has been applied to analyze the flavonoids of Huangqi, the roots of Astragalus mongholicus and A. membranaceus. Eight flavonoids were identified as calycosin, calycosin-7-O-beta-D-glucoside-6"-O-malonate, ononin, dimethoxypterocarpan-3-O-bet a-D-glucoside, calycosin, formononetin-7-O-beta-D-glucoside-6"-O-malonate and formononetin by direct comparison with the isolated standards from Huangqi. This is the first report of flavonoid glycoside malonates in these two Astragalus species, and malonate 2 is a structurally completely identified new compound.
The effect of honey-frying on anti-oxidation activity of Astragalus mongholicus Bunge
Zhongguo Zhong Yao Za Zhi. 1994.
The anti-free radical effects of water extracts of crude Astragalus mongholicus (CAWE) and honey-fried Astragalus mongholicus (HAWE) have been studied. Both extracts have similar effects in scavenging 0.2 in Xan/Xo system. The effect of CAWE is stronger than that of HAWE in scavenging reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced by PMA and stimulated by PMN and also in scavenging OH engendered by Fentons reaction. This suggests that frying process may decrease the ROS scavenging activities of Astragalus mongholicus.
ARTICLE TWO
Protection of PC12 cells against superoxide-induced damage by isoflavonoids from Astragalus mongholicus.
Yu DH1, Bao YM, An LJ, Yang M.Author information Abstract OBJECTIVE: To further investigate the neuroprotective effects of five isoflavonoids from Astragalus mongholicus on xanthine (XA)/ xanthine oxidase (XO)-induced injury to PC12 cells.
METHODS: PC12 cells were damaged by XA/XO. The activities of antioxidant enzymes, MTT, LDH, and GSH assays were used to evaluate the protection of these five isoflavonoids. Contents of Bcl-2 family proteins were determined with flow cytometry.
RESULTS: Among the five isoflavonoids including formononetin, ononin, 9, 10-dimethoxypterocarpan-3-O-beta-D-glucoside, calycosin and calycosin-7-O-glucoside, calycosin and calycosin-7-O-glucoside were found to inhibit XA/ XO-induced injury to PC12 cells. Their EC50 values of formononetin and calycosin were 0.05 microg/mL. Moreover, treatment with these three isoflavonoids prevented a decrease in the activities of antioxidant enzymes, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), while formononetin and calycosin could prevent a significant deletion of GSH. In addition, only calycosin and calycosin-7-O-glucoside were shown to inhibit XO activity in cell-free system, with an approximate IC50 value of 10 microg/mL and 50 microg/mL. Formononetin and calycosin had no significant influence on Bcl-2 or Bax protein contents.
CONCLUSION: Neuroprotection of formononetin, calycosin and calycosin-7-O-glucoside may be mediated by increasing endogenous antioxidants, rather by inhibiting XO activities or by scavenging free radicals.
PMID:19462688 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]