Astragalus Membranaceus is sold by Puritan Pride for 3 cents per 470 mg capsule 9/03.  It is a Chinese medicine substance from the milk vetch family with 500 PubMed references. One study used it in combination with two other Chinese medicines for hyperlipidemia and reported mild benefit. Another used in combination with at least nine other Chinese medicines for hepatitis B active cases and reported results better than placebo. 

Astragalus has been used in congestive heart failure, lung cancer, stroke, protect against renal and liver toxicity, TB treatment adjunct, diabetes nephropathy, burn patients, etc. The Chinese studies have control groups and some abstracts mention being random assignment although most do not.  Very few mention double-blinding. There doesn’t appear to be any research outside of China. There are many other species of Astragalus in other countries that have been tested for chemical composition but not in humans or even in animals. Loco weed is in the genus, including several locoweed species in U.S.  Locoweed is the most common toxic weed in western US. 

Chinese human studies all seem very recent, so maybe other countries will do some research.  At present, there is no good scientific evidence from China or elsewhere that astragalus helps human disease.

Astragalus & Chinese Medicinal Herbs No Value for Hepatitis B: Three randomized clinical trials (307 patients) that followed patients for three months or more after the end of treatment were included. The methodological quality was poor. The herbal compound 'Jianpi Wenshen recipe' had significant effects on viral markers compared to interferon: relative risk 2.40 (95% CI 1.01 to 5.72) for clearance of serum HBsAg, 2.03 (95% CI 0.98 to 4.20) for clearance of HBeAg, and 2.54 (95% CI 1.13 to 5.70) for seroconversion of HBeAg to anti-HBe. Phyllanthus amarus and Astragalus membranaceus showed no significant antiviral effect compared with placebo. Analysis of pooling eight randomized clinical trials with less than three months follow-up did not show a significant benefit of Chinese medicinal herbs on viral markers. Data on long-term clinical outcomes and quality of life were lacking. Copenhagen. Chinese medicinal herbs for asymptomatic carriers of hepatitis B virus infection. Liu JP, McIntosh H, Lin H. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2001;(2):CD002231

Astragalus IV Found Helpful for Congestive Heart Failure in Randomized Study: 62 in-pt. Effect of astragalus injection on immune function in patients with congestive heart failure. Zhongguo Zhong Xi Yi Jie He Za Zhi. 2003 May;23(5):351-3.

Austragalus IV Claimed Helpful in Chemotherapy Adjunct: Astragalus injection supplemented with chemotherapy could inhibit the development of tumor, decrease the toxic-adverse effect of chemotherapy, elevate the immune function of organism and improve the quality of life in patients. 120 pt DB PC. Clinical study on effect of Astragalus in efficacy enhancing and toxicity reducing of chemotherapy in patients of malignant tumor. Zhongguo Zhong Xi Yi Jie He Za Zhi. 2002 Jul;22(7):515-

Austragalus Claimed Benefit Acute MI in Randomized Study: 108 pt. AI is one of the effective drugs in reversal of left ventricular remodeling and improving left ventricular function in patients with AMI. Clinical study on effect of Astragalus injection on left ventricular remodeling and left ventricular function in patients with acute myocardial infarction. Zhang JG, Gao DS, Wei GH. Zhongguo Zhong Xi Yi Jie He Za Zhi. 2002 May;22(5):346-8

Austragalus Mongolicus Claimed Psych Benefits: Study of the pharmacological properties of a preparation from the plants of Mongolian milk vetch (Astragalus mongolicus) of the Leguminosae Juss. family showed evidence of a pronounced psychotropic activity. The main action components are the anxiolytic (tranquilizer), antidepressant, antiamnesic, and antiaggressive effects. Russian article. Psychotropic effect of the Astragalus mongolicus preparation. Molodavkin GM, Voronina TA, Aldarmaa J. Eksp Klin Farmakol. 2000 Nov-Dec;63(6):12-4

Thomas E. Radecki, M.D., J.D.

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