title: Recent Advances in Astragalus membranaceus Anti-Diabetic Research: Pharmacological Effects of Its Phytochemical Constituents.
abstract: The disease burden of diabetes mellitus is increasing throughout the world. The need for more potent drugs to complement the present anti-diabetic drugs has become an imperative. Astragalus membranaceus, a key component of most Chinese herbal anti-diabetic formulas, has been an important prospect for lead anti-diabetic compounds. It has been progressively studied for its anti-diabetic properties. Ethnopharmacological studies have established its potential to alleviate diabetes mellitus. Recent studies have sought to relate its chemical constituents to types 1 and 2 diabetes mellitus. Its total polysaccharides, saponins, and flavonoids fractions and several isolated compounds have been the most studied. The total polysaccharides fraction demonstrated activity to both types 1 and 2 diabetes mellitus. This paper discusses the anti-diabetic effects and pharmacological action of the chemical constituents in relation to types 1 and 2 diabetes mellitus.
authors.affiliation: Tianjin State Key Laboratory of Modern Chinese Medicine, 312 Anshanxi Road, Nankai District, Tianjin 300193, China ; Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, P.O. Box LG 581, Legon, Accra, Ghana.
authors.forename: Kojo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Agyemang
authors.affiliation: Tianjin State Key Laboratory of Modern Chinese Medicine, 312 Anshanxi Road, Nankai District, Tianjin 300193, China.
authors.forename: Lifeng
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Tianjin State Key Laboratory of Modern Chinese Medicine, 312 Anshanxi Road, Nankai District, Tianjin 300193, China.
authors.forename: Erwei
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Tianjin State Key Laboratory of Modern Chinese Medicine, 312 Anshanxi Road, Nankai District, Tianjin 300193, China.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Tianjin State Key Laboratory of Modern Chinese Medicine, 312 Anshanxi Road, Nankai District, Tianjin 300193, China.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Tianjin State Key Laboratory of Modern Chinese Medicine, 312 Anshanxi Road, Nankai District, Tianjin 300193, China.
authors.forename: Xiumei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Gao