Abstract:

Astragalus membranaceus (A. membranaceus) is a type of traditional Chinese medicine with a long history of clinical application. It is used in the improvement and treatment of various diseases as medicine and food to invigorate the spleen and replenish qi. The main components of A. membranaceus are Astragalus polysaccharide (APS), flavonoids compounds, saponins compounds, alkaloids, etc. APS is the most important natural active component in A. membranaceus, and possesses multiple pharmacological properties. At present, APS possess the huge potential to develop a drug improving or treating different diseases. In this review, we reveal the potential approaches of pre-treating and preparation on APS as much as possible and the study on content of APS and its chemical composition including different monosaccharides. More importantly, this paper summarize pharmacological actions on immune regulation, such as enhancing the immune organ index, promoting the proliferation of immune cells, stimulating the release of cytokines, and affecting the secretion of immunoglobulin and conduction of immune signals; anti-aging; anti-tumor by enhancing immunity, inducing apoptosis of tumor cells and inhibiting the proliferation and transfer of tumor cells; antiviral effects; regulation of blood glucose such as type I diabetes mellitus, type II diabetes mellitus and diabetic complications; lipid-lowering; anti-fibrosis; antimicrobial activities and anti-radiation. It provided theoretical basis for the further research such as its structure and mechanism of action, and clinical application of APS.

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A Review of the Pharmacological Action of Astragalus Polysaccharide

^{Provincial-level Key Laboratory for Molecular Medicine of Major Diseases and The Prevention and Treatment with Traditional Chinese Medicine Research in Gansu Colleges and University, Gansu University of Chinese Medicine, Lanzhou, China}

^{Pharmacy College, Gansu University of Chinese Medicine, Lanzhou, China}

^{School of Education, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom}

^{Ophthalmology Department, First Hospital of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China}

Edited by: Ruiwen Zhang, University of Houston, United States

Reviewed by: Xiaojun Yang, Northwest A&F University, China; Tao Yi, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong; Yan Yang, Anhui Medical University, China

*Correspondence: Dongling Liu, moc.361@38gnilgnod; Yongqi Liu, moc.361@37iqgnoyuil

This article was submitted to Ethnopharmacology, a section of the journal Frontiers in Pharmacology

Edited by: Ruiwen Zhang, University of Houston, United States

Reviewed by: Xiaojun Yang, Northwest A&F University, China; Tao Yi, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong; Yan Yang, Anhui Medical University, China

Received 2019 Dec 4; Accepted 2020 Mar 9.

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

Abstract

Astragalus membranaceus (A. membranaceus) is a type of traditional Chinese medicine with a long history of clinical application. It is used in the improvement and treatment of various diseases as medicine and food to invigorate the spleen and replenish qi. The main components of A. membranaceus are Astragalus polysaccharide (APS), flavonoids compounds, saponins compounds, alkaloids, etc. APS is the most important natural active component in A. membranaceus, and possesses multiple pharmacological properties. At present, APS possess the huge potential to develop a drug improving or treating different diseases. In this review, we reveal the potential approaches of pre-treating and preparation on APS as much as possible and the study on content of APS and its chemical composition including different monosaccharides. More importantly, this paper summarize pharmacological actions on immune regulation, such as enhancing the immune organ index, promoting the proliferation of immune cells, stimulating the release of cytokines, and affecting the secretion of immunoglobulin and conduction of immune signals; anti-aging; anti-tumor by enhancing immunity, inducing apoptosis of tumor cells and inhibiting the proliferation and transfer of tumor cells; antiviral effects; regulation of blood glucose such as type I diabetes mellitus, type II diabetes mellitus and diabetic complications; lipid-lowering; anti-fibrosis; antimicrobial activities and anti-radiation. It provided theoretical basis for the further research such as its structure and mechanism of action, and clinical application of APS.

Keywords: Astragalus polysaccharide, preparation, chemical composition, pharmacological action, immune regulation, anti-aging, anti-tumor, regulation of blood glucose

Abstract

Acknowledgments

We acknowledge Gansu University of Chinese Medicine, Provincial-level Key Laboratory for Molecular Medicine of Major Diseases and The Prevention and Treatment with Traditional Chinese Medicine Research in Gansu Colleges and University for providing support and assistance for this review article.

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