title: Study of the effects of total flavonoids of Astragalus on atherosclerosis formation and potential mechanisms.
abstract: Astragalus mongholicus Bunge has long been used to treat cardiovascular disease in Chinese traditional medicine. However, its mechanisms are not fully understood. In this study, we explored potential mechanisms and protective effects of total flavonoids of Astragalus (TFA) on cardiovascular disease using in vitro experiments and diet-induced atherosclerotic rabbits. We identified six components and their proportion in TFA. The animal experiments showed that TFA significantly reduced plasma levels of total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol (P < 0.05 to 0.01), increased HDL cholesterol levels (P < 0.01), and reduced the aortic fatty streak area by 43.6 to 63.6% (P < 0.01). We also found that TFA scavenged superoxide and hydroxyl radicals and this effect increased with higher TFA concentration. In in vivo experiments, TFA effectively inhibited the free radical spectrum in the ischemia-reperfusion module. In conclusion, TFA was the active component of Astragalus mongholicus Bunge, which benefits cardiovascular disease attributing to the potent antioxidant activity to improve the atherosclerosis profile.
authors.affiliation: Department of Blood Transfusion, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100853, China. deqingw@vip.sina.com
authors.forename: Deqing
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhuang
authors.forename: Yaping
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.forename: Graham Neil
authors.initials: GN
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.forename: Mingzhong
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ying
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tomlinson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001011:Aorta / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology; D027883:Astragalus Plant / Q000737:chemistry*; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000473:pathology*; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000097:blood; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005419:Flavonoids / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D016166:Free Radical Scavengers / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional; D011817:Rabbits; D015427:Reperfusion Injury / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL; D005419:Flavonoids; D016166:Free Radical Scavengers; D002784:Cholesterol