Astragalus propinquus

Astragalus propinquus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Genus: Astragalus
Species: A. propinquus
Binomial name
Astragalus propinquus
Schischkin[1]
Synonyms
  • "Astragalus membranaceus (Fisch.) Bunge
  • Astragalus membranaceus (Fisch.) Bunge var. mongholicus (Bunge)P.K.Hsiao
  • Astragalus propinquus Schischkin var. glabra Vydr.
  • Phaca membranacea Fisch."[1]

Astragalus propinquus (syn. Astragalus membranaceus ) also known as huáng qí (yellow leader) (simplified Chinese: 黄芪; traditional Chinese: 黃芪) or běi qí (Chinese: 北芪), huáng hua huáng qí (Chinese: 黄花黄耆),[2] is a flowering plant in the family Fabaceae. It is one of the 50 fundamental herbs used in traditional Chinese medicine.[3] It is a perennial plant and it is not listed as being threatened.[1]

Contents

Nomenclature, taxonomy & codification

Use

Herbalism

A. propinquus is used in traditional Chinese medicine, where it is used to speed healing and treat diabetes.[4] In western herbal medicine, Astragalus is primarily considered a tonic for enhancing metabolism and digestion and is consumed as a tea or soup made from the (usually dried) roots of the plant, often in combination with other medicinal herbs. It is also traditionally used to strengthen the immune system and in the healing of wounds [5] and injuries.[6] Extracts of A. propinquus are used in Australia as part of a commercially available pharmaceutical MC-S to stimulate production of peripheral blood lymphocytes.

A. propinquus has been asserted to be a tonic that can improve the functioning of the lungs, adrenal glands and the gastrointestinal tract, increase metabolism, sweating, promote healing and reduce fatigue.[7] A mix of Astragali Radix and Salviae Radix, has been used to treat patients with chronic fatigue.[8]

There is a report in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology that Astragalus membranaceus can show "immunomodulating and immunorestorative effects.",[9] The herbal extract supplementation in drinking water can induce an immune stimulation response in immunosuppressed chickens.[10] It has been shown to increase the production of interferon and to activate immune cells such as macrophages.[3]

There is a report in the journal Rejuvenation Research claims that an extract of Astragalus propinquus called TA-65 can activate telomerase, extending the lengths of the shortest telomeres which protect the terminal DNA at the ends of all chromosomes.[11] Telomere loss is associated with errors in cell division and is thought to be the primary cause of aging. In October of 2010 Intertek/AAC Labs, an ISO 17025 internationally recognized lab, found the largest component of TA-65 to be Cycloastragenol[12].

The active constituents of the roots (Radix Astragali) include polysaccharides, triterpenoids (astragalosides) [13] as well as isoflavones (including calycosin and formononetin) along with their glycosides and malonates.[14]

Chemistry

The active medicinal ingredient extracted from the root is 7-hydroxy-4'methoxyisoflavone (IUPAC: 7-hydroxy-3-(4-methoxyphenyl)chromen-4-one).

Related species

The natural gum tragacanth, which is used in pharmaceuticals and textiles, is obtained from Astragalus tragacanthus.[15]

Toxicology

Other Astragalus spp. are known to cause severe poisonings in livestock due to indolizine alkaloids, aliphatic nitro compounds and accumulated selenium.[16] None of these constituents have been detected in the medicinal species Astragalus membranaceus used in dietary supplements and TCM preparations.[17]

Compendial status

See also

Notes & references

  1. ^ a b c "Astragalus propinquus". ILDIS LegumeWeb. International Legume Database & Information Service. 2005-11-01. http://www.ildis.org/LegumeWeb?version~10.01&LegumeWeb&tno~16104. Retrieved 2008-01-03. 
  2. ^ "Huang qi, Complementary and Alternative Healing University". http://alternativehealing.org/huang_qi.htm. Retrieved 2008-02-19. 
  3. ^ a b "Astragalus membranaceus - Plants For A Future database report". Plants For A Future. June 2004. http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Astragalus+membranaceus. Retrieved 2008-02-21. 
  4. ^ "Astragalus". University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC). 2007. http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/astragalus-000223.htm. Retrieved 2008-02-21. 
  5. ^ Wound-healing activity of Astragali Radix in rats Han D.-O., Lee H.-J., Hahm D.-H. Methods and Findings in Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology 2009 31:2 (95-100)
  6. ^ Gaia Garden Herbals | Products : Astragalus
  7. ^ Phyllis Balch, C.N.C. (2006). Prescription for Nutritional Healing, 4th Edition: A Practical A-to-Z Reference to Drug-Free Remedies Using Vitamins, Minerals, Herbs & Food. Avery Penguin Putnam. ISBN 9781583332368. 
  8. ^ Myelophil, an extract mix of Astragali Radix and Salviae Radix, ameliorates chronic fatigue: A randomised, double-blind, controlled pilot study Cho J.H., Cho C.K., Shin J.W., Son J.Y., Kang W., Son C.G. Complementary Therapies in Medicine 2009 17:3 (141-146)
  9. ^ Cho WC, Leung KN (August 2007). "In vitro and in vivo immunomodulating and immunorestorative effects of Astragalus membranaceus". J Ethnopharmacol 113 (1): 132–41. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2007.05.020. PMID 17611061. 
  10. ^ Analysis of immunological enhancement of immunosuppressed chickens by Chinese herbal extracts Liu F.-X., Sun S., Cui Z.-Z. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 2010 127:2 (251-256)
  11. ^ Harley, Calvin B.; Liu, Weimin; Blasco, Maria; Vera, Elsa; Andrews, William H.; Briggs, Laura A.; Raffaele, Joseph M. (2011). "A Natural Product Telomerase Activator As Part of a Health Maintenance Program". Rejuvenation Research 14 (1): 45–56. doi:10.1089/rej.2010.1085. PMC 3045570. PMID 20822369. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=3045570. 
  12. ^ American Analytical Chemistry Laboratories Analysis Document #100710-236 of TA-65
  13. ^ Xu, Q; Ma, X; Liang, X (2007). "Determination of astragalosides in the roots of Astragalus spp. using liquid chromatography tandem atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry". Phytochem. Anal. 18 (5): 419–27. doi:10.1002/pca.997. PMID 17624885. 
  14. ^ Lin, LZ et al. (2000). "Liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry study of the flavonoids of the roots of Astragalus mongholicus and A. membranaceus". J. Chromatogr. A 876 (1-2): 87–95. PMID 10823504. 
  15. ^ Gentry, H.S.; M.Mittleman, and P.R. McCrohan (1990). "The natural gum tragacanth, which is used in pharmaceuticals and textiles, is obtained from Astragalus tragacanthus". Purdue University Crop Index (Purdue University): pp. 1. http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1990/v1-252.html. Retrieved 2008-01-03. 
  16. ^ J.L. Rios, P.G. Waterman (1998). “A review of the pharmacology and toxicology of Astragalus”. Phytotherapy Research 11 (6):411-418. 10.1002/(SICI)1099-1573(199709)11:6<411::AID-PTR132>3.0.CO;2-6
  17. ^ WebMD
  18. ^ Japanese Pharmacopoeia. "Error: no |title= specified when using {{Cite web}}". http://jpdb.nihs.go.jp/jp15e/JP15.pdf. Retrieved 21 April 2010. 

External links