Astragalus
by Shayne Foley
Use of Astragalus Root (Astragalus membranaceus) is
reported to be as ancient as Chinese culture itself. Unlike western culture,
which tends to prize most highly those medicines with clear and specific pharmacological
action, Astragalus was considered to be of superior importance by the Chinese,
due to its general tonifying activity. As a tonic, it has found wide use with
the traditional treatment of many diseases, most notably those associated with
children and so-called states of “deficiency.”
From an energetic standpoint, Astragalus is said to nourish the “Chi”
or vital energy of the body.
Today, Astragalus Root remains an important medicinal herb in
the Chinese and Japanese pharmacopoeias. Most often used for its immune modulating
effects, particularly associated with chronic degenerative disease, Astragalus
also finds popular medical use as an adjunctive cancer treatment.
Modern biomedicine supports a number of key traditional uses
of Astragalus. With many of the most devastating epidemics of our time owing
their destructiveness to their ability to overcome healthy states of immunity,
there’s little wonder modern science has looked closely at Astragalus’ use
with conditions of immune deficiency. Large-scale epidemiological studies have
shown that Astragalus has the ability to decrease both the incidence and duration
of the common cold. Antibody expression and the ability of peripheral white
blood cells to produce interferon has also been enhanced by Astragalus in clinical
trials. Interferon is a type of protein belonging to a group of immune-related
molecules called cytokines. It plays a role in both activating key immune system
cells and possesses anti-tumor activity, perhaps explaining, to some degree,
Astragalus’ use in fighting cancer.
A number of constituents in Astragalus have been shown in animal
and test-tube studies to possess wideranging anti-oxidant activities against
free-radicals of numerous sources and events of origin. Presumably related
to this antioxidant activity, human trials have also shown Astragalus to possess
positive effects on the cardiovascular system. When given intravenously, cardiac
performance and positive indicators associated with recovery from ischemic
heart disease (decreased oxygen supply to the heart muscle) have been reported,
along with numerous performance and antioxidant activity following acute myocardial
infarction (heart attack).
Astragalus is also used in China for the treatment of chronic
hepatitis. When given orally over several months, levels of glutamate pyruvate
transaminase (GPT) normalized. GPT levels are an indicator of liver damage.
Elevated levels of GPT are found in conditions such as viral hepatitis, active
alcoholic cirrhosis, and drug-induced liver damage. Astragalus’ health
benefits, particularly those associated with upper respiratory conditions such
as the common cold and as an adjunctive treatment for cancer, may be the result
of its normalizing effect on the immune system. What we know from modern science
and its traditional use in China and Japan, makes Astragalus a natural choice
for herbs used to support human immune function.
Herb Pharm produces an extract of dried, certified organic Astragalus
root that is of excellent quality and pleasant to the taste. Like all tonics,
the benefits of Astragalus are most evident when the extract is taken over
an extended period of time.