Astragalus

A natural product commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine herbal mixtures may help to improve quality of life, manage side effects, and treat certain cancers.

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Modes of action: systemic immunity

Astragalus may prevent metastasis and promote the efficacy of chemotherapy by improving systemic immunity¹Li S, Sun Y et al. Anti-tumor effects and mechanisms of Astragalus membranaceus (AM) and its specific immunopotentiation: status and prospect. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 2020 Aug 10;258:112797.

Preclinical evidence 

Notable preclinical evidence is listed here; clinical evidence is in How can astragalus help you? What the research says ›

Improving treatment outcomes

• Greater effects of pemetrexed disodium (used in some lung cancers, especially with metastases) or gemcitabine (used with breast, ovarian, non-small cell lung, and pancreatic cancers), possibly allowing for reduced dose and toxicity without sacrificing treatment effectiveness²Chu Z, Wang Z, Liu T, Xiong S, Liu B. Evaluation of the effects of astragalus membranaceus on the pharmacokinetics of pemetrexed disodium and gemcitabine in rats by a simple high-performance liquid chromatography/UV method. Journal of Analytical Methods in Chemistry. 2019 Apr 28;2019:3162426.
• Less proliferation and more apoptosis in bladder cancer, glioma, cervical cancer, colorectal cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, osteosarcoma, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer and gastric adenocarcinoma³Ong SKL, Shanmugam MK et al. Focus on formononetin: anticancer potential and molecular targets. Cancers (Basel). 2019;11(5):611; Auyeung KK, Woo PK, Law PC, Ko JK. Astragalus saponins modulate cell invasiveness and angiogenesis in human gastric adenocarcinoma cells. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 2012 Jun 1;141(2):635-41.
• Breast cancer:
  • Less cell proliferation, including in chemo-resistant breast cancer cells, without killing normal cells, in combination with Hedyotis diffusa, Curcuma zedoaria (Christm.) Rosc. and Glycyrrhiza uralensis⁴Wang N, Yang B et al. Network pharmacology-based validation of caveolin-1 as a key mediator of Ai Du Qing inhibition of drug resistance in breast cancer. Frontiers in Pharmacology. 2018 Oct 2;9:1106.
  • Astragalus polysacharide (APS) did not significantly inhibit the growth of MCF-7 cell growth, however, APS-activated RAW264.7 macrophages present anti-cancer activity. Findings suggest that APS can activate macrophages to release NO and TNF-α, which directly blocks cancer cell growth.⁵Li W, Song K et al. Anti-tumor potential of astragalus polysaccharides on breast cancer cell line mediated by macrophage activation. Materials Science & Engineering. C, Materials for Biological Applications. 2019 May;98:685-695.
• Colorectal cancer:
  • Less proliferation with FOLFOX 4, and more cytotoxicity of 5-FU⁶Chen M, May BH, Zhou IW, Xue CC, Zhang AL. FOLFOX 4 combined with herbal medicine for advanced colorectal cancer: a systematic review. Phytotherapy Research. 2014;28(7):976–991.
  • Astragalus saponins (AST) inhibit cell proliferation through accumulation in S phase and G2/M arrest, with concomitant suppression of p21 expression and inhibition of cyclin-dependent kinase activity. Reduced tumor volume, pro-apoptotic effects and anti-proliferative effects were observed in HT-29 nude mice xenograft with effects comparable to those produced by 5-fluorouracil (5-FU).⁷Tin MM, Cho CH, Chan K, James AE, Ko JK. Astragalus saponins induce growth inhibition and apoptosis in human colon cancer cells and tumor xenograft. Carcinogenesis. 2007 Jun;28(6):1347-55.
• Liver cancer:
  • APS decreased cell viability and induced the apoptosis of HCC cells in a concentration-dependent manner.⁸Huang WH, Liao WR, Sun RX. Astragalus polysaccharide induces the apoptosis of human hepatocellular carcinoma cells by decreasing the expression of Notch1. International Journal of Molecular Medicine. 2016 Aug;38(2):551-7.
  • Less metastasis and proliferation and more apoptosis of hepatocellular carcinoma cells⁹Auyeung KK, Woo PK, Law PC, Ko JK. Astragalus saponins modulate cell invasiveness and angiogenesis in human gastric adenocarcinoma cells. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 2012 Jun 1;141(2):635-41.
• Ovarian cancer:
  • Slower growth of stage 1 tumors, but not stage 2 or 3 tumors, in mice when combined with curcumin as an adjuvant treatment to cisplatinum¹⁰Yin G, Tang D et al. Combination efficacy of Astragalus membranaceus and Curcuma wenyujin at different stages of tumor progression in an imageable orthotopic nude mouse model of metastatic human ovarian cancer expressing red fluorescent protein. Anticancer Research. 2015 Jun;35(6):3193-207.
  • More apoptosis and less migration and invasion of ovarian cancer cells treated with formononetin, an extract of astragalus¹¹Zhang J, Liu L et al. Formononetin, an isoflavone from Astragalus membranaceus inhibits proliferation and metastasis of ovarian cancer cells. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 2018 Jul 15;221:91-99.
  • Ovarian cancer cells more sensitive to cisplatin¹²Li C, Hong L et al. Astragalus polysaccharides increase the sensitivity of SKOV3 cells to cisplatin. Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics. 2018 Feb;297(2):381-386.
  • Weak cytotoxicity against ovarian cancer cells in lab studies with Astragalus kahiricus¹³Radwan MM, El-Sebakhy NA, Asaad AM, Toaima SM, Kingston DG. Kahiricosides II-V, cycloartane glycosides from an Egyptian collection of Astragalus kahiricus. Phytochemistry. 2004 Nov;65(21):2909-13.

Optimizing your body terrain

• Astragalus showed anti-inflammatory action in preclinical studies¹⁴Ong SKL, Shanmugam MK et al. Focus on formononetin: anticancer potential and molecular targets. Cancers (Basel). 2019;11(5):611; Dong J, Liang W et al. Saponins regulate intestinal inflammation in colon cancer and IBD. Pharmacological Research. 2019;144:66–72.
• Immune support or modulation in reviews and meta-analyses¹⁵Chen M, May BH, Zhou IW, Xue CC, Zhang AL. FOLFOX 4 combined with herbal medicine for advanced colorectal cancer: a systematic review. Phytotherapy Research. 2014;28(7):976–991; Chen M, May BH et al. Oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy combined with traditional medicines for neutropenia in colorectal cancer: a meta-analysis of the contributions of specific plants. Critical Reviews in Oncology/Hematology. 2016;105:18–34; Dong J, Liang W et al. Saponins regulate intestinal inflammation in colon cancer and IBD. Pharmacological Research. 2019;144:66–72; Denzler K, Moore et al. Characterization of the physiological response following in vivo administration of Astragalus membranaceus. Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 2016;2016:6861078; Li S, Sun Y et al. Anti-tumor effects and mechanisms of Astragalus membranaceus (AM) and its specific immunopotentiation: status and prospect. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 2020 Aug 10;258:112797.
• Antioxidant activity in preclinical studies¹⁶Chen MH, May BH, Zhou IW, Zhang AL, Xue CC. Integrative medicine for relief of nausea and vomiting in the treatment of colorectal cancer using oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Phytotherapy Research. 2016;30(5):741–753; Dong J, Liang W et al. Saponins regulate intestinal inflammation in colon cancer and IBD. Pharmacological Research. 2019;144:66–72.

Managing side effects and promoting wellness

• Astragalus protected nerve tissue in preclinical studies¹⁷Sun A, Xu X, Lin J, Cui X, Xu R. Neuroprotection by saponins. Phytotherapy Research. 2015 Feb;29(2):187-200.
• Astragalus led to less suppression of bone marrow activity (myelosuppression) caused by chemotherapy and radiotherapy in preclinical studies¹⁸Jung Y, Jerng U, Lee S. A systematic review of anticancer effects of radix astragali. Chinese Journal of Integrative Medicine. 2016 Mar;22(3):225-36. 

Reducing cancer risk

• Saponins, compounds found in astragalus, prevented colon tumor development in animals¹⁹Dong J, Liang W et al. Saponins regulate intestinal inflammation in colon cancer and IBD. Pharmacological Research. 2019;144:66–72; Jung Y, Jerng U, Lee S. A systematic review of anticancer effects of radix astragali. Chinese Journal of Integrative Medicine. 2016 Mar;22(3):225-36. 

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