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ASTRAGALUS EXTRACT Product No. P01295

Also known as Milk Vetch, Locoweed, Yellow Vetch, Poison Vetch, and Chinese Astragalus. The common name ‘Astragalus’ also includes the species Astragalus mongolicus, Astragalus chinensis, and Astragalus complanatus, which are used interchangeably with Astragalus membranaceus.

Astralagus is a member of the pea family, and is a low-growing, perennial shrub that reaches about 16 inches in height. It is native to Mongolia and northern and eastern China, and thrives in sandy, well-drained soil, with plenty of sun.

There are now more than 2000 species of astragalus worldwide, including approximately 400 in North America. However, the medicinal varieties are found only in central and western Asia, where they have been extensively tested, both chemically and pharmacologically. It produces hairy stems and leaves divided into 12 - 18 pairs of leaflets. The root, harvested in autumn from four year old plants, pulls apart easily and shreds like tissue paper. A yellow core in the centre of the sweet-tasting black root is the medicinal substance. The latex, tragacanth, is extracted by making an incision in the trunk and branches of trees growing in the wild. When it dries, it forms flakes that swell in water to form a gelatinous mass used in various treatments. The key components of astragalus are asparagines, calcyosin, formononetin, astragalosides, kumatakenin and sterols.

The plant was used medicinally as early as 200BC and was known even then to assist in balancing the body systems and to be beneficial for the lungs and spleen.

The yellow colour of the root inspired the Chinese name, ‘huang qi’, meaning ‘yellow leader’. It has been used in China for thousands of years as an energy tonic to strengthen qi, the body's life force and protective energy (the immune system in Western terminology). It is believed to warm and tone wei qi (a protective energy that circulates just beneath the skin), helping the body to adapt to external influences, especially cold temperatures, and is also used to improve physical endurance, and encourage the body systems to function correctly. By encouraging blood flow to the surface, the herb is effective in controlling night sweats, relieving fluid retention, and reducing thirstiness. In Chinese medicine, the herb has also been used alone, or in combination with other herbs, to treat liver fibrosis, viral infections, heart failure, small cell lung cancer, liver and kidney diseases, and amenorrhoea.

Chinese experiments indicated that the herb was able to protect against the absorption of toxic chemicals into the liver. Infusions were, and are still used to prevent, or help treat colds and other infections, to improve heart function, especially after a heart attack, improve memory and learning, temporarily increase urinary output, and to promote the healing of burns and skin sores. A decoction of the root in combination with Chinese angelica is used to treat anaemia, but when combined with cinnamon, it is used to treat cold and numbness.

Astragalus boosts the spleen when symptoms indicate that it is not functioning as it should. These symptoms include chronic fatigue, diarrhoea, and a loss of appetite. Generally, the herb is also used to treat;