title: Anti-aging effect of astragalosides and its mechanism of action.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study the anti-aging effect of astragalosides (AST) and its mechanism of action.
  
  
  METHODS
  Rotating rod test and step-down type passive avoidance test were performed to determine the effects of AST on motor and memory of D-galactose (D-gal)-induced senescent mice and the middle-aged mice. The proliferative response of splenocytes induced by Con A or LPS, IL-2 production of splenocytes induced by ConA of D-gal-treated mice and the middle-aged mice were also measured.
  
  
  RESULTS
  AST (40 mg.kg(-1).d(-1), ig, for 10 weeks) was found to ameliorate age-related alternations in both motor response and memory, enhance the deteriorated cellular immunity in D-gal-treated mice and the pre-aged (17-month-old) mice.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  AST has an anti-aging effect on D-gal-induced senescent mice and has the effect of delaying senility of the middle-aged mice, which was related to its improvement of brain function and immunomodulatory effects.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Clinical Pharmacology, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China. keerfood@mail.hf.ah.cn
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lei
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Wei-Ping
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Ai-Wu
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Min-Zhu
authors.initials: MZ
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000187:drug effects*; D000818:Animals; D027885:Astragalus propinquus / Q000737:chemistry; D001362:Avoidance Learning / Q000187:drug effects; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects*; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005690:Galactose; D007376:Interleukin-2 / Q000096:biosynthesis; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000737:chemistry; D010946:Plants, Medicinal / Q000737:chemistry; D012503:Saponins / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013154:Spleen / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D007376:Interleukin-2; D012503:Saponins; D005690:Galactose