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Astragalus (Astragalus membranaceus)

Specific Recommendations:

• Astragalus at Amazon.com

News & Research:

• Astragalus (Astragalus membranaceus) - Delicious Living, 10/05
• The Herbal Way To Keep Flu at Bay - WebMD, 12/12/03 - "Astragalus is an immune-enhancing herb to ward off flu," Weil says""
• Astragalus Asserts Immunity - Nutrition Science News, 10/00
• Herbal Aids for Cancer - Nutrition Science News, 3/00
• Immune Enhancers - Nutrition Science News, 2/99

Abstracts:

• Hypoglycemic effect of the polysaccharides from Astragalus membranaceus on type 2 diabetic mice based on the "gut microbiota-mucosal barrier" - Food Funct 2022 Oct 3 - "Astragalus membranaceus polysaccharides (APP), the main active constituent, possess numerous bioactivities ... The results showed that APP improved glycolipid metabolism disorders, inflammation and oxidative stress levels, and organ injury in T2DM mice. Furthermore, the APP could protect the intestinal barrier by suppressing intestinal inflammation and oxidative stress levels, and strongly inhibited the potential intestinal pathogen Shigella with a reduction rate of 88.92%, and promoted the growth of beneficial bacteria Allobaculum and Lactobacillus by 11.72% and 30.70%, respectively. In addition, the antibiotic test indicated that the APP could repair intestinal barrier damage by remodeling some specific gut microbiota which may be their hypoglycemic mechanism. The results provide a theoretical basis for the development of APP as a novel prebiotic in functional food for diabetes" - See astragalus at Amazon.com.
• Chemical Profiles and Antiobesity Effect of a Mixture of Astragalus membranaceus and Lithospermum erythrorhizon Extract in High Fat Diet Fed Mice - Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2022 Aug 12 - "The present study aimed to evaluate the antiobesity potential and synergistic effects of ALM16, a mixture of Astragalus membranaceus (AM) and Lithospermum erythrorhizon (LE) extracts, in HFD-induced obese mice. C57BL/6 mice were fed a normal diet (ND), high-fat diet (HFD), HFD + AM, HFD + LE or HFD + ALM16 (50, 100, and 200 mg/kg) daily for 5 weeks. Compared to the ND group, HFD-fed mice showed significant increases in body weight, food efficiency ratio, weights of white adipose tissues, adipocytes size, liver weight, and hepatic steatosis grade. However, ALM16 significantly reduced those increases induced by HFD. Moreover, as compared to the HFD group, the ALM16 group significantly ameliorated serum levels of lipid profiles (TG, TC, HDL, and LDL), adipokines (leptin and adiponectin), and liver damage markers (AST and ALT levels). Notably, ALM16 was more effective than AM or LE alone and had a similar or more potent effect than Garcinia cambogia extracts, as a positive control, at the same dose. These results demonstrate that ALM16 synergistically exerts anti-obesity effects based on complementary interactions between each component. Also, metabolic profiling between each extract and the ALM16 was confirmed by UPLC-QTOF/MS, and the difference was confirmed by relative quantification" - See Astragalus at Amazon.com.
• Protective effect of Astragalus membranaceus and Astragaloside IV in sepsis-induced acute kidney injury - Aging (Albany NY) 2022 Jul 20 - "Acute kidney injury (AKI) is the most common target organ damage in sepsis. Sepsis-associated AKI (SA-AKI) may be characterized by damage to the renal tubular epithelium ... Astragalus membranaceus and AS-IV protect against sepsis-induced kidney tubular injury by activating the PI3K/AKT pathway"
• Calycosin Improves Intestinal Mucosal Barrier Function after Gastrectomy in Rats through Alleviating Bacterial Translocation, Inflammation, and Oxidative Stress - Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2022 Jun 26 - "Calycosin is the main bioactive extract of Astragali Radix with anti-inflammation, antioxidant, and anticancer properties. Here, our study evaluated the protective effects and mechanisms of calycosin on intestinal mucosal barrier under gastrectomy ... Altogether, our findings demonstrate that calycosin may improve intestinal mucosal barrier function under gastrectomy via reducing bacterial translocation, inflammation, and oxidative stress"
  • Calycosin - Wikipedia - "Calycosin is an O-methylated isoflavone. It can be isolated from Astragalus membranaceus Bge. var. mongholicus[1] and Trifolium pratense L. (red clover)"
• Astragalus mongholicus polysaccharides ameliorate hepatic lipid accumulation and inflammation as well as modulate gut microbiota in NAFLD rats - Food Funct 2022 Jun 21 - "Hepatic lipid accumulation, inflammation and gut microbiota dysbiosis are hallmarks of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which is the leading cause of chronic liver disease with no therapeutic consensus ... Astragalus mongholicus polysaccharides (mAPS) ... mAPS and Berberine treatment markedly reduced HFD-induced hepatic lipid accumulation ... mAPS supplementation ameliorates hepatic inflammation and lipid accumulation in NAFLD by modulating the gut microbiota and SCFA-GPR signaling pathways. The present study provides new evidence for mAPS as a natural active substance in the treatment of NAFLD" - See Astragalus at Amazon.com.
• ZhenQi FuZheng formula inhibits the growth of colorectal tumors by modulating intestinal microflora-mediated immune function - Aging (Albany NY) 2022 Jun 8 - "Zhenqi Fuzheng formula (ZQFZ), of which the main ingredients are Astragalus membranaceus and Ligustrum lucidum, has immune system regulatory functions and potential anti-tumor bioactivity ... ZQFZ promoted an anti-tumor immune response and inhibited the occurrence and development of CRC by regulating the immune system. This study provides the experimental basis for the application of ZQFZ as a therapeutic agent for CRC" - See Astragalus membranaceus at Amazon.com and Ligustrum lucidum at Amazon.com.
• Exploring the Mechanism of Astragalus propinquus Schischkin and Panax Notoginseng (A&P) Compounds in the Treatment of Renal Fibrosis and Chronic Kidney Disease Based on Integrated Network Analysis - Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2022 Feb 27 - "Astragalus propinquus Schischkin and Panax notoginseng (A&P) has been widely used in clinical practice to treat chronic kidney disease (CKD) for many years and achieved a remarkable improvement of these outcomes ... What's more, the effect of A&P and potential genes was furthermore verified by using unilateral ureteral ligation (UUO) in rodent model. The results showed that the expression of HSF1 and RELA both at transcript and protein level was significantly upregulated in UUO model, but the expression was markedly reversed after A&P intervention. To further guide the interpretation of active ingredients from A&P on the effect of HSF1 and RELA, we performed a molecular docking assay and the results showed that active ingredients such as coptisine docked well into HSF1 and RELA. In total, these results suggest that A&P may improve RF in CKD by regulating HSF1 and RELA, which provides a basis for further understanding the mechanism of A&P in the treatment of RF and CKD" - See astragalus at Amazon.com and Panax ginseng at Amazon.com.
• Astragalus Flavone Induces Proliferation and Differentiation of Neural Stem Cells in a Cerebral Infarction Model - Med Sci Monit 2022 Mar 7 - "Ischemic cerebrovascular disease leads to the activation and differentiation of neural stem cells (NSCs) into mature neurons and glia cells to repair nerve damage. Astragalus flavone (ASF) has shown its potential role in proliferation and differentiation into dopamine neurons of NSCs ... ASF therapy can improve the neurologic functions and reduce the cerebral infarction volume in a cerebral infarction model. Moreover, ASF promoted the proliferation of NSCs and induced differentiation into neurons and oligodendrocytes, which might be involved in regulating factors in Notch signaling"
• Standardized astragalus extract for attenuation of the immunosuppression induced by strenuous physical exercise: randomized controlled trial - J Int Soc Sports Nutr 2021 Jul 16 - "This paper aimed to verify how a supplementation of rower's diet with Astragalus Membranaceus Root (AMR) modulated their immune system response to maximal physical exertion ... 18 members of the Polish Rowing Team assigned to the supplemented group (n = 10), and the placebo group (n = 8). The participants performed a 2000 m test on a rowing ergometer at the beginning and at the end of the six-week of intensive training camp during which the supplemented group received 500 mg of AMR ... AMR restored the immunological balance in strenuously trained athlets through a stabilization of NK and Treg cells with a positive trend in Tδγ towards Th1 response during restitution by cytokine IL2 modulation"
• Protective Effect of a Mixture of Astragalus membranaceus and Lithospermum erythrorhizon Extract against Hepatic Steatosis in High Fat Diet-Induced Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Mice - Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2020 Mar 19 - "The present study aimed to evaluate the potential synergistic and protective effects of ALM16, a mixture of Astragalus membranaceus (AM) and Lithospermum erythrorhizon (LE) extract in a ratio of 7 : 3, against hepatic steatosis in high fat diet (HFD)-induced nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) mice. Forty-eight mice were randomly divided into eight groups and orally administered daily for 6 weeks with a normal diet (ND) or high fat diet alone (HFD), HFD with AM (HFD + 100 mg/kg AM extract), HFD with LE (HFD + 100 mg/kg LE extract), HFD with ALM16 (HFD + 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg ALM16), or HFD with MT (HFD + 100 mg/kg Milk thistle extract) as a positive control. ALM16 significantly decreased the body and liver weight, serum and hepatic lipid profiles, including triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL), and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL), and serum glucose levels, compared to the HFD group. Moreover, ALM16 significantly ameliorated the HFD-induced increased hepatic injury markers, including aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT)-1. Furthermore, as compared to the mice fed HFD alone, ALM16 increased the levels of phosphorylated AMP-activated protein kinase (p-AMPK) and acetyl-CoA carboxylase (p-ACC), thereby upregulating the expression of carnitine palmitoyltransferase (CPT)-1 and downregulating the expression of sterol regulatory element-binding protein (SREBP)-1c and fatty acid synthase (FAS)" - See Astragalus at Amazon.com and Lithospermum erythrorhizon at Amazon.com.