Astragalus, Huang Qi ้ป่ช
Huang Qi (TCM)
Astragalus mongholicus
Ledebour, C.F. von, Icones plantarum novarum, vol. 4 (1833)
Wild Astragalus Huang Qi root in long, uncut lengths at the Chengdu Medicine Market.
Steamed and flattened Huang Qi (Adam, 2017)
Members CLICK HERE for the PRO VERSION
Botanical name:
1. Astragalus membranaceus (syn. Astragalus propinquus)
2. Astragalus mongholicus (syn. Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus)
Parts used:
Root
Temperature & Taste:
Warm, dry. Sweet
Uses:
1. Tonifies the Spleen and Stomach, Increases Qi:
-fatigue, poor appetite, diarrhea
-increases Qi and nourishes Blood; useful for conditions with Qi and Blood deficiency, or marked Blood deficiency
-Fever from Qi deficiency.
-Numbness and Paralysis associated with Qi and Blood deficiency
2. Tonifies the Lungs, Stops Cough:
-chronic Cough and Wheezing associated with Lung weakness
3. Strengthens the Surface, Stops Sweating:
-consolidates the skin to protect from Wind and Epidemic pathogens; good for those who regularly catch Cold and Flu
-Spontaneous Sweating associated with weakness
-Chills and Fever, Malarial Fever (Ben Cao Gang Mu)
-‘It brings about perspiration, and stops it when there is too much.’ (Ben Cao Gang Mu)
4. Raises Yang Qi:
-special function of helping raise the ‘pure Yang’
-Prolapses associated with Qi deficiency
5. Strengthens the Kidneys, Promotes Urine:
-Edema from deficiency
-‘good for treating Antepartum and Postpartum diseases’. (Ben Cao Gang Mu)
6. Resolves Masses:
-‘disperses hard masses … eliminates Scrofula, Goiters and Polyps’. (Ben Cao Gang Mu)
-an important herb in modern Cancer treatment
7. Discharges Pus, Generates Flesh:
-chronic Sores and Ulcers that don’t heal because of deficiency
-chronic carbuncles and phlegmons (Ben Cao Gang Mu)
-‘a wonderful drug for sores, for expelling pus, relieving pain, removing blood stasis’. (Zhang Yuan Su)
Dose:
Decoction: 9โ15 grams
Powder: 2โ6 grams
Comment:
‘It is suitable for a patient who is anemic and with a plump build, and perspires profusely. For a patient who is thin and wiry, with a dark complexion, the drug will cause fullness in the chest’. (Ben Cao Gang Mu)
Preparations:
Substitutes:
Correctives:
Main Combinations:
Deficiency
1. To nourish Qi and Blood after severe Blooding or Anemia, Astragalus Huang Qi with Dang Gui (as in Dang Gui Bu Xue Tang [Dang Gui Tonify the Blood Decoction]) (This formula has been studied for its effectiveness)
2. Qi deficiency: Debility, Fatigue, poor appetite and Spontaneous Sweating:
i. Astragalus Huang Qi with ย … available in PRO version
ii. Astragalus Huang Qi with ย … available in PRO version
iii. Chronic Fatigue, Astragalus Huang Qi, ย … available in PRO version
3. Spleen Qi deficiency with Damp:
i. marked by poor appetite, heaviness, fatigue, loose stool, Astragalus Huang Qi with ย … available in PRO version
ii. if there is Damp and Qi stagnation add ย … available in PRO version
4. Constipation in the aged:
i. Astragalus Huang Qi with ย … available in PRO version
ii. Astragalus Huang Qi with ย … available in PRO version
iii. Astragalus Huang Qi with ย … available in PRO version
5. Bleeding due to deficiency, Astragalus Huang Qi with ย … available in PRO version
6. Insomnia and Neurasthenia from Qi and Blood deficiency, Astragalus Huang Qi with ย … available in PRO version
7. Strengthen the body to protect from pathogens (ie. increase immunity), Astragalus Huang Qi with ย … available in PRO version
8. Numbness and painful obstruction from Wind-Cold-Damp with Qi deficiency:
i. Astragalus Huang Qi with ย … available in PRO version
ii. Astragalus Huang Qi, ย … available in PRO version
iii. Astragalus Huang Qi, ย … available in PRO version
Sweating
9. Spontaneous Sweating that’s worse at night, Astragalus Huang Qi with ย … available in PRO version
10. Night sweats Astragalus Huang Qi with ย … available in PRO version
Urinary
11. Turbid, whitish urine, decoct Astragalus Huang Qi with ย … available in PRO version
12. Chronic Kidney Disease:
i. Astragalus can be added to ย … available in PRO version
ii. Astragalus, ย … available in PRO version
13. Chronic Kidney Failure:
i. Astragalus Huang Qi with ย … available in PRO version
14. Diabetes / ‘Wasting and Thirsting Disorder’ (overlaps Diabetes):
i. Astragalus Huang Qi with ย … available in PRO version
ii. Astragalus Huang Qi with ย … available in PRO version
iii. Diabetic Nephropathy, Astragalus Huang Qi with ย … available in PRO version
Cancer:
15. Cancer:
i. General: Astragalus Huang Qi with ย … available in PRO version
ii. Lung: Astragalus Huang Qi with ย … available in PRO version
iii. Lung: Astragalus Huang Qi, ย … available in PRO version
iv. Ovarian: Astragalus Huang Qi with ย … available in PRO version
16. To support during Chemotherapy: Astragalus Huang Qi, ย … available in PRO version
-marked deficiency, add ย … available in PRO version
-Yin deficiency add ย … available in PRO version
-Phlegm-Damp, add ย … available in PRO version
Women’s Diseases:
17. Threatened Miscarriage with abdominal pain and vaginal discharge, Astragalus Huang Qi, ย … available in PRO version
18. Post-Menopausal Osteoporosis: Astragalus Huang Qi ย … available in PRO version
Major Formulas:
Yu Ping Feng San
Bu Zhong Yi Qi Tang
Dang Gui Bu Xue Tang
Gui Pi Tang
Cautions:
Generally Safe.
1. Avoid large overdose.
2. Some people may be allergic
3. In TCM, it is not used for acute Sores with Heat and Toxin (red, swollen and painful).
Main Preparations used:
Honey-fried Astragalus, Dry-Fried Astragalus, Wine-Fried Astragalus
1. INCREASE IMMUNITY / IMMUNOMODULATORY:
โAlcohol-soluble polysaccharide from Astragalus membranaceus: Preparation, characteristics and antitumor activity.
โExtraction of a Novel Cold-Water-Soluble Polysaccharide from Astragalus membranaceus and Its Antitumor and Immunological Activities.
โAnti-Inflammatory and Immunostimulatory Activities of Astragalosides.
โ[Immunomodulatory effect of Huangqi glycoprotein on mice with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis].
โSelenium-dependent antitumor immunomodulating activity of polysaccharides from roots of A. membranaceus.
2. ANTI-INFLAMMATORY:
โAnti-Inflammatory and Immunostimulatory Activities of Astragalosides.
โAstragaloside IV attenuates inflammatory reaction via activating immune function of regulatory T-cells inhibited by HMGB1 in mice.
3. ANTIโOXIDANT:
โAstragaloside IV protects RGC-5 cells against oxidative stress.
โThe Antioxidant Effects of Radix Astragali (Astragalus membranaceus and Related Species) in Protecting Tissues from Injury and Disease.
4. ANTIโTUMOR:
โAlcohol-soluble polysaccharide from Astragalus membranaceus: Preparation, characteristics and antitumor activity.
โExtraction of a Novel Cold-Water-Soluble Polysaccharide from Astragalus membranaceus and Its Antitumor and Immunological Activities.
5. ANTIโCANCER:
BREAST:
โExtract from Astragalus membranaceus inhibit breast cancer cells proliferation via PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway.
โSH003 suppresses breast cancer growth by accumulating p62 in autolysosomes.
โHerbal extract SH003 suppresses tumor growth and metastasis of MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells by inhibiting STAT3-IL-6 signaling.
CERVICAL:
โSH003โinduced G1 phase cell cycle arrest induces apoptosis in HeLa cervical cancer cells.
COLON:
โAstragalus saponins modulates colon cancer development by regulating calpain-mediated glucose-regulated protein expression.
GASTROINTESTINAL:
โAstragalus membranaceus: A Review of its Protection Against Inflammation and Gastrointestinal Cancers.
LEUKEMIA:
โImproved Survival With Integration of Chinese Herbal Medicine Therapy in Patients With Acute Myeloid Leukemia: A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study.
LUNG
โAstragaloside IV inhibits the progression of non-small cell lung cancer through Akt/GSK-3ฮฒ/ฮฒ-catenin pathway.
โAstragaloside IV sensitizes non-small cell lung cancer cells to gefitinib potentially via regulation of SIRT6.
โAstragaloside IV Enhances Cisplatin Chemosensitivity in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Cells Through Inhibition of B7-H3.
โFormononetin suppresses the proliferation of human non-small cell lung cancer through induction of cell cycle arrest and apoptosis.
โAstragaloside IV inhibits progression of lung cancer by mediating immune function of Tregs and CTLs by interfering with IDO.
LIVER
โCompound Astragalus and Salvia miltiorrhiza extract inhibits hepatocarcinogenesis via modulating TGF-ฮฒ/TฮฒR and Imp7/8.
โAlcohol-soluble polysaccharide from Astragalus membranaceus: Preparation, characteristics and antitumor activity.
โAstragaloside IV inhibits cell migration and viability of hepatocellular carcinoma cells via suppressing long noncoding RNA ATB.
โAstragalus polysaccharide induces the apoptosis of human hepatocellular carcinoma cells by decreasing the expression of Notch1.
OSTEOSARCOMA:
โChemosensitive effects of Astragaloside IV in osteosarcoma cells via induction of apoptosis and regulation of caspase-dependent Fas/FasL signaling.
OVARIAN:
โFormononetin, an isoflavone from Astragalus membranaceus inhibits proliferation and metastasis of ovarian cancer cells.
PROSTATE:
โSH003 induces apoptosis of DU145 prostate cancer cells by inhibiting ERK-involved pathway.
6. SYNERGISTIC EFFECT WITH CHEMOTHERAPY:
โAstragaloside IV enhances taxol chemosensitivity of breast cancer via caveolin-1-targeting oxidant damage.
โAstragaloside IV sensitizes non-small cell lung cancer cells to gefitinib potentially via regulation of SIRT6.
โAstragaloside IV Enhances Cisplatin Chemosensitivity in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Cells Through Inhibition of B7-H3.
โFormononetin sensitizes glioma cells to doxorubicin through preventing EMT via inhibition of histone deacetylase 5.
7. AMELIORATES CHEMO SIDE EFFECTS:
โAstragalus polysaccharide suppresses doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity by regulating the PI3k/Akt and p38MAPK pathways.
8. ANTI-ANGIOGENIC:
โSH003 represses tumor angiogenesis by blocking VEGF binding to VEGFR2.
9. REVERSES PRECANCEROUS LESIONS IN GASTRIC MUCOSA:
โAstragaloside IV reverses MNNG-induced precancerous lesions of gastric carcinoma in rats: Regulation on glycolysis through miRNA-34a/LDHA pathway.
10. DIABETES, DIABETIC COMPLICATIONS:
โ[Research advances on astragaloside-IV in treatment of diabetes mellitus and its complications pharmacological effects].
โAnti-diabetic effects and mechanisms of action of a Chinese herbal medicine preparation JQ-R in vitro and in diabetic KKAy mice.
โAnti-diabetic activities of traditional Chinese herbal medicine in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.
โAstragaloside IV enhances diabetic wound healing involving upregulation of alternatively activated macrophages.
11. DIABETIC NEPHROPATHY
โAre the Therapeutic Effects of Huangqi (Astragalus membranaceus) on Diabetic Nephropathy Correlated with Its Regulation of Macrophage iNOS Activity?
โEffect of Astragalus membranaceus extract on diabetic nephropathy.
12. DIABETIC RETINOPATHY:
โChinese herbal drugs for the treatment of diabetic retinopathy.
13. HEALS INTESTINAL MUCOSA:
โAstragalus membranaceus (Fisch.) Bunge repairs intestinal mucosal injury induced by LPS in mice.
โAstragaloside II promotes intestinal epithelial repair by enhancing L-arginine uptake and activating the mTOR pathway.
14. CARDIO-PROTECTIVE
โCardioprotection activity and mechanism of Astragalus polysaccharide in vivo and in vitro.
15. PREVENTS CARDIAC FIBROSIS:
โAstragalosideโ
ฃ against cardiac fibrosis by inhibiting TRPM7 channel.
โAstragaloside IV inhibits isoprenalineโinduced cardiac fibrosis by targeting the reactive oxygen species/mitogenโactivated protein kinase signaling axis.
16. HEPATOPROTECTIVE:
โPolysaccharides from Angelica and Astragalus exert hepatoprotective effects against carbon-tetrachloride-induced intoxication in mice.
17. CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE:
โAstragalus (a traditional Chinese medicine) for treating chronic kidney disease.
18. PREVENTS RENAL FIBROSIS:
โAstragalus membranaceus ameliorates renal interstitial fibrosis by inhibiting tubular epithelial-mesenchymal transition in vivo and in vitro.
19. POST-STROKE FATIGUE:
โEffects of the traditional Chinese herb Astragalus membranaceus in patients with poststroke fatigue: A double-blind, randomized, controlled preliminary study.
21. ANTIโSTRESS:
โAnti-stress effect of astragaloside IV in immobilized mice.
22. ANTI-AGING:
โAnti-Aging Implications of Astragalus Membranaceus (Huangqi): A Well-Known Chinese Tonic.
โAstragaloside IV controls collagen reduction in photoaging skin by improving transforming growth factor-ฮฒ/Smad signaling suppression and inhibiting matrix metalloproteinase-1.
23. IMPROVES GROWTH PERFORMANCE in chickens:
โEvaluation of the Pharmaceutical Properties and Value of Astragali Radix.
24. IMPROVES CHILDHOOD HEIGHT GROWTH:
โEffects of Astragalus Extract Mixture HT042 on Height Growth in Children with Mild Short Stature: A Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial.
25. PROMOTES SPERM
โAstragalus membranaceus augment sperm parameters in male mice associated with cAMP-responsive element modulator andย activator of CREM in testis.
26. PROMOTES WOUND HEALING:
โWound healing effect of an Astragalusย membranaceus polysaccharide and its mechanism.
Clinical Trials:
1. POST STROKE FATIGUE: Effects of the traditional Chinese herb Astragalus membranaceus in patients with poststroke fatigue: A double-blind, randomized, controlled preliminary study.
2. ALLERGIC RHINITIS: Efficacy and safety of Astragalus membranaceus in the treatment of patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis.
3. CHRONIC FATIGUE: Myelophil, an extract mix of Astragali Radix and Salviae Radix, ameliorates chronic fatigue: a randomised, double-blind, controlled pilot study.
4. MENOPAUSE: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of the effect of a Chinese herbal medicine preparation (Dang Gui Buxue Tang) on menopausal symptoms in Hong Kong Chinese women.
5. VIRAL MYOCARDITIS: [A study on combination therapy of Western and traditional Chinese medicine of acute viral myocarditis].
