Identification and activity evaluation of Astragalus Radix from different germplasm resources based on specific oligosaccharide fragments

Objective: Based on trifluoroacetic acid(TFA) hydrolysis, polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis(PAGE) and high performance thin layer chromatography(HPTLC) analysis, the carbohydrate responsible for immunomodulatory activity are used as quality indicators for Astragalus Radix(AR).Methods: In this study, 24 batches of AR from different germplasm resources were selected as the research object, and AR polysaccharides were extracted. PAGE and HPTLC methods were used to analyze the partial acid hydrolyzate of AR polysaccharides and obtain a series of saccharide fingerprints. The data were analyzed by principal component analysis to obtain the difference between AR from different germplasm resources.Results: The results showed that trisaccharide and tetrasaccharide could be used as differential fragments to distinguish AR of different cultivation methods;Disaccharides and trisaccharides can be used as differential fragments to distinguish different species of AR. The immunological activity analysis of the specific oligosaccharide fragment of AR showed that the specific oligosaccharide fragment of AR could promote the secretion of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, and NO in THP-1 cells in a concentration-dependent manner.Conclusion: Both PAGE and HPTLC methods can be used to evaluate AR from different germplasm resources. This study laid the foundation for the quality evaluation of AR medicinal herbs.

Particle Sizes and Antibacterial Activity of Radix Astragalus and Radix Isatidis Ultrafine Powders

Using 9200 laser particle size analyzer and KYKY-2800 scanning electron microscope, particle sizes and cellular morphology of Radix Astragalus and Radix Isatidis ultrafine powders were observed. According to the results, the particle size of 89. 1 % of Radix Astragalus ultrafine powders ranged from 1.729 [xm to 44.938 ｜xm, Z ）50 =4.368 ｜xm; the particle size of 93.411% of Radix Isatidis ultrafine powders ranged from 1.510 [xm to 44.938 ｜xm, Z ）50 = 8 .7 2 6 [xm. Radix As-tragalus and Radix Isatidis ultrafine powders were pulverized completely without intact cellular morphology. The antibacterial activity of Radix Astragalus and Radix Isatidis ultrafine powders against chicken-derived E. coli （078） was investigated. The results indicated that Radix Astragalus and Radix Isatidis ultrafine powders exhibited higher antibacterial activity against chicken-derived E. coli （078 ） compared with the corresponding coarse powders. This study laid a solid foundation for the development and application of Chinese medicine ultrafine powder preparations.

Research Progress on Mechanism of Action of Radix Astragalus in the Treatment of Heart Failure

This paper reviewed the retrieved literature published in the last 10 years,regarding the mechanism of Radix Astragalus in treating heart failure,in aspects of myocardial contraction improvement, cardiac muscle cell protection,neuro-endocrinal system regulation,relative cytokine regulation,and left ventricular remodeling inhibition,etc.

Protecdive Effects of Radix Astrsgalus on Vascular Endotbelial Cells of Patients with Binswanger's Disease

Objective: To compare the effects of Radix Astragalus (RA) on vascular endothelial cells inBinswanger's disease (BD) patients with Radix Salviae miltiorrhizae (RSM). Methods: There were 37 patientswith BD in the treated group and 37 healthy subjects in the control group. Thirty-seven patients were furtherrandomly subdivided into two groups: RA group (19 patients) and RSM group (18 patients). Circulating endothelial cells (CEC) and the levels of endothelin--1 (ET--1 ), nitric oxide (NO) and malondialdehyde (MDA) inthe blood of internal jugular vein which were examined before and after treatments. Results: When comparedwith those of the control group, CEC counts, ET-1 and MDA levels in plasma increased significantly, meanwhile serum NO concentration decreased significantly in the treated group. When compared with those of pretreatment, CEC counts, ET-1 and MDA decreased significantly and serum NO concentration increased significantly after treatment in RA groUp. There were no significant changes of these indices in RSM group after treatment. Conclusions: There are damage and dysfunction of vascular endothelial cells in patients with BD. RA injection is an effective drug to protect vascular endothelial cells of BD patients.

Effect of Astragalus Membranaceus on Ca￣(2＋）Influx and CVB3 RNA Replication in Cultured Neonatal Rat Heart C

Here was investigated the effect of Radix Astragalus Membranaceus IAM) on Caz+ influxacross the myocardial plasma membrane and coxsackie virus B3 ( CVB3 ) -RNA replication in cultured neonatalrat heart cells infected with CVB3 . It was found that the Oa2+ intlux could be inhibited signiticantly by AM bothin heart cells intected with CVB3 for 48 hours and in normal control heart cells. In addition. the Caz+ intluxand the amounts of CVB3-RNA in rnyocytes simultaneously intected with CVB3 and treated with AM for 48hours were statistically decreased compared with that in CVB3-infected contrOI cells. These phenomena sug-gested that AM could exert the effects of decreasing the secondary Ca2+ damages, irnproving the abnormalmyocardial electric activity and inhibiting replication of CVB3-RNA in myocardium. Thus, it is a rationalchoice to treat patients with AM in viral myocarditis.