title: A review of recent research progress on the astragalus genus.
abstract: Astragalus L., is one of the largest genuses of flowering plants in the Leguminosae family. Roots of A. membranaceus Bge. var. mongholicus (Bge.) Hsiao, A. membranaceus (Fisch.) Bge. and its processed products are listed in the China Pharmacopeia for "qi deficiency" syndrome treatment. However, more and more researches on other species of Astragalus have been conducted recently. We summarize the recent researches of Astragalus species in phytochemistry and pharmacology. More than 200 constituents, including saponins and flavonoids, obtained from 46 species of Astragalus genus were collected for this article. In pharmacological studies, crude extracts of Astragalus, as well as isolated constituents showed anti-inflammatory, immunostimulant, antioxidative, anti-cancer, antidiabetic, cardioprotective, hepatoprotective, and antiviral activities. The goal of this article is to provide an overview of chemical and pharmacological studies on the Astragalus species over the last 10 years, which could be of value to new drug or food supplement research and development.
authors.affiliation: Tianjin State Key Laboratory of Modern Chinese Medicine, 312 Anshanxi Road, Nankai District, Tianjin, 300193, China. huifeidedouzi@yeah.net.
authors.forename: Xiaoxia
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Tianjin State Key Laboratory of Modern Chinese Medicine, 312 Anshanxi Road, Nankai District, Tianjin, 300193, China. qululuhan88@163.com.
authors.forename: Lu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Qu
authors.affiliation: Tianjin State Key Laboratory of Modern Chinese Medicine, 312 Anshanxi Road, Nankai District, Tianjin, 300193, China. dongyongzhe44@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Yongzhe
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: Tianjin Key Laboratory of TCM Chemistry and Analysis, Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 312 Anshan Road, Nankai District, Tianjin 300193, China. hanlifeng_1@163.com.
authors.forename: Lifeng
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Tianjin Key Laboratory of TCM Chemistry and Analysis, Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 312 Anshan Road, Nankai District, Tianjin 300193, China. liuwei628@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Erwei
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Tianjin Key Laboratory of TCM Chemistry and Analysis, Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 312 Anshan Road, Nankai District, Tianjin 300193, China. fang_shiming@163.com.
authors.forename: Shiming
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.affiliation: Tianjin State Key Laboratory of Modern Chinese Medicine, 312 Anshanxi Road, Nankai District, Tianjin, 300193, China. zhwwxzh@263.net.
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. wangtao@tjutcm.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D027883:Astragalus Plant / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D005419:Flavonoids / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010946:Plants, Medicinal / Q000737:chemistry*; D012503:Saponins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D005419:Flavonoids; D010936:Plant Extracts; D012503:Saponins