Astragalus, Huang Qi 黄芪

Huang Qi (TCM)
 Picture
Picture Astragalus mongholicus
Ledebour, C.F. von, Icones plantarum novarum, vol. 4 (1833)

Picture Wild Astragalus Huang Qi root in long, uncut lengths at the Chengdu Medicine Market.

Picture Steamed and flattened Huang Qi (Adam, 2017)

Picture 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
-used where Spleen fails to manage the Blood; chronic bleeding disorders with weakness
-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
-used to promote Sweat in conditions where diaphoretics have not worked
-used simultaneously with diaphoretics for weakness in those with Cold and Flu
-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: 9–15 grams
Powder: 2–6 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:
 … available in PRO version

Substitutes:


 … available in PRO version

Correctives:


 … available in PRO version
Picture

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  … available in PRO version
ii. Astragalus Huang Qi with  … available in PRO version
iii. Chronic Fatigue, Astragalus Huang Qi,  … available in PRO version
3. Spleen Qi deficiency with Damp:
i. marked by poor appetite, heaviness, fatigue, loose stool, Astragalus Huang Qi with  … available in PRO version
ii. if there is Damp and Qi stagnation add  … available in PRO version
4. Constipation in the aged:
i. Astragalus Huang Qi with  … available in PRO version
ii. Astragalus Huang Qi with  … available in PRO version
iii. Astragalus Huang Qi with  … available in PRO version
5. Bleeding due to deficiency, Astragalus Huang Qi with  … available in PRO version
6. Insomnia and Neurasthenia from Qi and Blood deficiency, Astragalus Huang Qi with  … available in PRO version
7. Strengthen the body to protect from pathogens (ie. increase immunity), Astragalus Huang Qi with  … available in PRO version
8. Numbness and painful obstruction from Wind-Cold-Damp with Qi deficiency:
i. Astragalus Huang Qi with  … available in PRO version
ii. Astragalus Huang Qi,  … available in PRO version
iii. Astragalus Huang Qi,  … available in PRO version
Sweating
9. Spontaneous Sweating that’s worse at night, Astragalus Huang Qi with  … available in PRO version
10. Night sweats Astragalus Huang Qi with  … available in PRO version

Urinary
11. Turbid, whitish urine, decoct Astragalus Huang Qi with  … available in PRO version
12. Chronic Kidney Disease:
i. Astragalus can be added to  … available in PRO version
ii. Astragalus,  … available in PRO version
13. Chronic Kidney Failure:
i. Astragalus Huang Qi with  … available in PRO version
14. Diabetes / ‘Wasting and Thirsting Disorder’ (overlaps Diabetes):
i. Astragalus Huang Qi with  … available in PRO version
ii. Astragalus Huang Qi with  … available in PRO version
iii. Diabetic Nephropathy, Astragalus Huang Qi with  … available in PRO version

Cancer:
15. Cancer:
i. General: Astragalus Huang Qi with  … available in PRO version
ii. Lung: Astragalus Huang Qi with  … available in PRO version
iii. Lung: Astragalus Huang Qi,  … available in PRO version
iv. Ovarian: Astragalus Huang Qi with  … available in PRO version
16. To support during Chemotherapy: Astragalus Huang Qi,  … available in PRO version
-marked deficiency, add  … available in PRO version
-Yin deficiency add  … available in PRO version
-Phlegm-Damp, add  … available in PRO version

Women’s Diseases:
17. Threatened Miscarriage with abdominal pain and vaginal discharge, Astragalus Huang Qi,  … available in PRO version
18. Post-Menopausal Osteoporosis: Astragalus Huang Qi  … 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
  • Extra Info
  • Research
(Last updated 9/2018)
1. INCREASE IMMUNITY / IMMUNOMODULATORY:
–Alcohol-soluble polysaccharide from Astragalus membranaceus: Preparation, characteristics and antitumor activity.
–Extraction of a Novel Cold-Water-Soluble Polysaccharide from Astragalus membranaceus and Its Antitumor and Immunological Activities.
–Anti-Inflammatory and Immunostimulatory Activities of Astragalosides.
–[Immunomodulatory effect of Huangqi glycoprotein on mice with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis].
–Selenium-dependent antitumor immunomodulating activity of polysaccharides from roots of A. membranaceus.

2. ANTI-INFLAMMATORY:
–Anti-Inflammatory and Immunostimulatory Activities of Astragalosides.
–Astragaloside IV attenuates inflammatory reaction via activating immune function of regulatory T-cells inhibited by HMGB1 in mice.

3. ANTI–OXIDANT:
–Astragaloside IV protects RGC-5 cells against oxidative stress.
–The Antioxidant Effects of Radix Astragali (Astragalus membranaceus and Related Species) in Protecting Tissues from Injury and Disease.

4. ANTI–TUMOR:
–Alcohol-soluble polysaccharide from Astragalus membranaceus: Preparation, characteristics and antitumor activity.
–Extraction of a Novel Cold-Water-Soluble Polysaccharide from Astragalus membranaceus and Its Antitumor and Immunological Activities.

5. ANTI–CANCER:
BREAST:
–Extract from Astragalus membranaceus inhibit breast cancer cells proliferation via PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway.
–SH003 suppresses breast cancer growth by accumulating p62 in autolysosomes.
–Herbal extract SH003 suppresses tumor growth and metastasis of MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells by inhibiting STAT3-IL-6 signaling.
CERVICAL:
–SH003‑induced G1 phase cell cycle arrest induces apoptosis in HeLa cervical cancer cells.
COLON:
–Astragalus saponins modulates colon cancer development by regulating calpain-mediated glucose-regulated protein expression.
GASTROINTESTINAL:
–Astragalus membranaceus: A Review of its Protection Against Inflammation and Gastrointestinal Cancers.
LEUKEMIA:
–Improved Survival With Integration of Chinese Herbal Medicine Therapy in Patients With Acute Myeloid Leukemia: A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study.
LUNG
–Astragaloside IV inhibits the progression of non-small cell lung cancer through Akt/GSK-3β/β-catenin pathway.
–Astragaloside IV sensitizes non-small cell lung cancer cells to gefitinib potentially via regulation of SIRT6.
–Astragaloside IV Enhances Cisplatin Chemosensitivity in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Cells Through Inhibition of B7-H3.
–Formononetin suppresses the proliferation of human non-small cell lung cancer through induction of cell cycle arrest and apoptosis.
–Astragaloside IV inhibits progression of lung cancer by mediating immune function of Tregs and CTLs by interfering with IDO.
LIVER
–Compound Astragalus and Salvia miltiorrhiza extract inhibits hepatocarcinogenesis via modulating TGF-β/TβR and Imp7/8.
–Alcohol-soluble polysaccharide from Astragalus membranaceus: Preparation, characteristics and antitumor activity.
–Astragaloside IV inhibits cell migration and viability of hepatocellular carcinoma cells via suppressing long noncoding RNA ATB.
–Astragalus polysaccharide induces the apoptosis of human hepatocellular carcinoma cells by decreasing the expression of Notch1.
OSTEOSARCOMA:
–Chemosensitive effects of Astragaloside IV in osteosarcoma cells via induction of apoptosis and regulation of caspase-dependent Fas/FasL signaling.
OVARIAN:
–Formononetin, an isoflavone from Astragalus membranaceus inhibits proliferation and metastasis of ovarian cancer cells.
PROSTATE:
–SH003 induces apoptosis of DU145 prostate cancer cells by inhibiting ERK-involved pathway.

6. SYNERGISTIC EFFECT WITH CHEMOTHERAPY:
–Astragaloside IV enhances taxol chemosensitivity of breast cancer via caveolin-1-targeting oxidant damage.
–Astragaloside IV sensitizes non-small cell lung cancer cells to gefitinib potentially via regulation of SIRT6.
–Astragaloside IV Enhances Cisplatin Chemosensitivity in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Cells Through Inhibition of B7-H3.
–Formononetin sensitizes glioma cells to doxorubicin through preventing EMT via inhibition of histone deacetylase 5.
 7. AMELIORATES CHEMO SIDE EFFECTS:
–Astragalus polysaccharide suppresses doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity by regulating the PI3k/Akt and p38MAPK pathways.

8. ANTI-ANGIOGENIC:
–SH003 represses tumor angiogenesis by blocking VEGF binding to VEGFR2.

9. REVERSES PRECANCEROUS LESIONS IN GASTRIC MUCOSA:
–Astragaloside IV reverses MNNG-induced precancerous lesions of gastric carcinoma in rats: Regulation on glycolysis through miRNA-34a/LDHA pathway.

10. DIABETES, DIABETIC COMPLICATIONS:
–[Research advances on astragaloside-IV in treatment of diabetes mellitus and its complications pharmacological effects].
–Anti-diabetic effects and mechanisms of action of a Chinese herbal medicine preparation JQ-R in vitro and in diabetic KKAy mice.
–Anti-diabetic activities of traditional Chinese herbal medicine in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.
–Astragaloside IV enhances diabetic wound healing involving upregulation of alternatively activated macrophages.

11. DIABETIC NEPHROPATHY
–Are the Therapeutic Effects of Huangqi (Astragalus membranaceus) on Diabetic Nephropathy Correlated with Its Regulation of Macrophage iNOS Activity?
–Effect of Astragalus membranaceus extract on diabetic nephropathy.

12. DIABETIC RETINOPATHY:
–Chinese herbal drugs for the treatment of diabetic retinopathy.

13. HEALS INTESTINAL MUCOSA:
–Astragalus membranaceus (Fisch.) Bunge repairs intestinal mucosal injury induced by LPS in mice.
–Astragaloside II promotes intestinal epithelial repair by enhancing L-arginine uptake and activating the mTOR pathway.

14. CARDIO-PROTECTIVE
–Cardioprotection activity and mechanism of Astragalus polysaccharide in vivo and in vitro.

15. PREVENTS CARDIAC FIBROSIS:
–AstragalosideⅣ against cardiac fibrosis by inhibiting TRPM7 channel.
–Astragaloside IV inhibits isoprenaline‑induced cardiac fibrosis by targeting the reactive oxygen species/mitogen‑activated protein kinase signaling axis.

16. HEPATOPROTECTIVE:
–Polysaccharides from Angelica and Astragalus exert hepatoprotective effects against carbon-tetrachloride-induced intoxication in mice.

17. CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE:
–Astragalus (a traditional Chinese medicine) for treating chronic kidney disease.

18. PREVENTS RENAL FIBROSIS:
–Astragalus membranaceus ameliorates renal interstitial fibrosis by inhibiting tubular epithelial-mesenchymal transition in vivo and in vitro.

19. POST-STROKE FATIGUE:
–Effects of the traditional Chinese herb Astragalus membranaceus in patients with poststroke fatigue: A double-blind, randomized, controlled preliminary study.

21. ANTI–STRESS:
–Anti-stress effect of astragaloside IV in immobilized mice.

22. ANTI-AGING:
–Anti-Aging Implications of Astragalus Membranaceus (Huangqi): A Well-Known Chinese Tonic.
–Astragaloside IV controls collagen reduction in photoaging skin by improving transforming growth factor-β/Smad signaling suppression and inhibiting matrix metalloproteinase-1.

23. IMPROVES GROWTH PERFORMANCE in chickens:
–Evaluation of the Pharmaceutical Properties and Value of Astragali Radix.

24. IMPROVES CHILDHOOD HEIGHT GROWTH:
–Effects of Astragalus Extract Mixture HT042 on Height Growth in Children with Mild Short Stature: A Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial.

25. PROMOTES SPERM
–Astragalus membranaceus augment sperm parameters in male mice associated with cAMP-responsive element modulator and activator of CREM in testis.

26. PROMOTES WOUND HEALING:
–Wound healing effect of an Astragalus 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].