A Systematic Review of Phytochemistry, Pharmacology and Pharmacokinetics on Astragali Radix: Implications for Astragali Radix as a Personalized Medicine

Abstract

Astragali radix (AR) is one of the most widely used traditional Chinese herbal medicines. Modern pharmacological studies and clinical practices indicate that AR possesses various biological functions, including potent immunomodulation, antioxidant, anti-inflammation and antitumor activities. To date, more than 200 chemical constituents have been isolated and identified from AR. Among them, isoflavonoids, saponins and polysaccharides are the three main types of beneficial compounds responsible for its pharmacological activities and therapeutic efficacy. After ingestion of AR, the metabolism and biotransformation of the bioactive compounds were extensive in vivo. The isoflavonoids and saponins and their metabolites are the major type of constituents absorbed in plasma. The bioavailability barrier (BB), which is mainly composed of efflux transporters and conjugating enzymes, is expected to have a significant impact on the bioavailability of AR. This review summarizes studies on the phytochemistry, pharmacology and pharmacokinetics on AR. Additionally, the use of AR as a personalized medicine based on the BB is also discussed, which may provide beneficial information to achieve a better and more accurate therapeutic response of AR in clinical practice.

New Insights for Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms of Aging and Aging-Related Diseases: Herbal Medicine as Potential Therapeutic Approach

“…. Radix Astragalus mainly contains astragalus polysaccharides, saponins, flavonoids, and other active components, which have various pharmacological actions such as antioxidation, antiaging, myocardium protection, and enhancement of immune function and hematopoietic function [181]. Ma et al [182] used different doses (100, 200, 400, and 600 mg/kg) of astragalus extract for intervention in the animal model of sustained myocardial ischemia in vivo.…”

Astragali radix total flavonoid synergizes cisplatin to inhibit proliferation and enhances the chemosensitivity of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma

“…9 Recent studies link AR with cancer proliferation, antioxidation, relief of complications in cardiovascular diseases and chemopreventive efficiency. [9][10][11] AR extracts show protective effects during oxaliplatin-induced lipid peroxidation, protein carbonylation, and DNA oxidation. 12 Flavonoids are the main types of bioactive substances in AR extracts.…”

Application of Convolutional Neural Network-Based Feature Extraction and Data Fusion for Geographical Origin Identification of Radix Astragali by Visible/Short-Wave Near-Infrared and Near Infrared Hyperspectral Imaging

“…The nutritional composition of Radix Astragali includes polysaccharide, flavonoids, saponin, alkaloids, amino acids, and various mineral elements [ 3 ]. Radix Astragali has been proven to provide multiple health functions such as immunomodulation, anti-tumor, and anti-oxidation [ 1 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]. With the development of society and the improvement in people’s living standard, the global demand for Radix Astragali has gradually increased with a corresponding increase in the planted areas of Radix Astragali.…”