March 2026

Polysaccharides in herbal medicine

• Week 1: Polysaccharides in herbal medicine
• Week 2: Marshmallow – All The Juicy Details
• Week 3: Astragalus – An Ancient Remedy For a Modern Condition
• Week 4: Reishi – The Mushroom Of Immortality

Astragalus – An Ancient Remedy For a Modern Condition

What’s in a name

 The origin of the generic name Astragalus is thought to be the Greek word astragalos, meaning ankle-bone.  These bones were apparently once used as dice, and the rattle of dry seeds in the pod of Astragalus mimicked the sound of dice in the cup.

Botanical Family: Fabaceae 

Part used: Roots

Degree: 2nd degree

Description

Astragalus is an herbaceous perennial with hairy stems that grow to between 16 and 36 inches tall. The leaves have 12 to 18 pairs of leaflets and sport small yellow flowers that grow in elongated spikes. These medicinal varieties are native specifically to Mongolia, Korea, and the northern and eastern regions of China. 

Growing

The seeds, like many other legume seeds, are small and kidney shaped. They have a relatively hard outer casing; therefore, they will benefit from being gently rubbed with sandpaper or soaked overnight before propagation. Once seeds are germinated, they can be planted outside in a sandy, well-drained soil, and bright sun after the last spring frost. Though generally hardy, astragalus doesn’t handle root disturbance well, and is best planted in its final position while still relatively small. 

Roots are typically harvested once the plant is 4 years old. The roots, when sliced, are yellow. 

History and lore

Astragalus membranaceus is known in China as Huang Qi, meaning “yellow leader.” This name refers to both the colored interior of the root and the plant’s position of prestige among Chinese medicine practitioners. 

A revered herb, astragalus have been used medicinally in China for at least 2,000 years. It appears first in the “Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing”, the foundational text of TCM, where it was listed in the highest class of remedies.

A paper reported that Genghis Khan gave his soldiers tea made from Astragalus (A. Membranaceus var. mongholicus) to help promote bravery and stamina in battle.  

To this day, astragalus remains one of the fifty fundamental herbs used in TCM and is listed as an official drug in the modern Pharmacopoeia of the People’s Republic of China. 

Energetic Architecture

Taste

Astragalus has a sweet and moistening taste that comes from the polysaccharide compounds found in the root. David Frawley discusses how the sweet taste can indicate its nutritive, rejuvenating, and tonic properties.  

Energetics

Temperature: slightly warming

Fluids: moistening

Tone: neutral

Tissue State

Cold, depressed tissue state, general underactivity of the metabolism, resulting in deficiency of vital force, lack of digestive fire, and malabsorption of nutrients. There is often an inadequate immune response.

Damp stagnation tissue state will manifest as edema, pale skin, hypoimmunity, and excessive phlegm with lymphatic stagnation. 

Special indication

Sharol Tilgner specifically indicates that astragalus awakens individuals with night sweats, prolapsing organs, frequent infectious illnesses, and poor digestion and nutritional status. 

Matthew Woods suggests astragalus for poor digestion and nutritional status, as well as a general lack of vitality. 

Pharmacology

Polysaccharides – large molecules of sugar that interface with the GALT (Gut Associated Lymph Tissue) to affect the immune system.

Flavonoids – reduce oxidative stress, therefore act as neuroprotective, and protect the cardiovascular system, liver, and nervous system.

Steroidal Saponins – specifically a cycloartane type triterpenoid that improves organ function and exerts anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antioxidant, neuroprotective, antifibrotic, and antitumor properties.

Actions

Foundational actions are associated with the energetic pattern and can be experienced viscerally in the body.

Astragalus foundational action is demulcent. – It is not slimy, but rather it supports fluid metabolism and nourishes without drying, which helps build tissue.

Primary actions relate to organs, systems, or tissues.

• Immune stimulant – a slow acting immune stimulant appropriate for long-term use in deficiency conditions
• Cardiotonic – Improving heart function and circulation, and helps the body recover from cardiovascular events.
• kidney trophorestorative  – It may improve kidney filtration capacity.

Secondary actions imply an end result without specifying energetics or the system affected.

• Anti-oxidant  – Astragalus provides significant protection against oxidative stress due to injury.  
• Anti-viral –  Astragalus inhibits the replication of various viruses.
• Anti-inflammatory – Anti-inflammatory activity in intestinal epithelial cells.

Organ affinity

• Immune system
• Spleen and blood
• Endocrine system
• Cardiovascular system
• Urinary tract

Clinical Pattern

Astragalus is an anabolic herb. In TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine), astragalus is known to build the Qi, or what we in the West call vitality. By building vitality, astragalus affects most, if not all, the body’s systems and their connections. 

Polysaccharides from astragalus are not absorbed in the small intestines. They, however, come into direct contact with the lymphatic system, which contains many immune cells. After interacting with the immune cells in the small intestines, astragalus’s polysaccharides are shuffled into the colon, where they are fermented by gut bacteria.

The brain endocrine axis. 

The HPA axis is a hormonal cascade initiated by stress, whether external (e.g., work or relationship woes) or internal (e.g., inflammation or insomnia). Chronic activation of the HPA response leads to a whole body imbalance that compromises the quality and expectancy of life.

When the body is in chronic stress, it upregulates the Tyrosine Hydroxylase enzyme, increasing the production of dopamine, epinephrine, and norepinephrine in the brain and adrenal gland. The end result is hypervigilance, increased heart rate and blood pressure, and high blood glucose.  

Adaptogens are herbs that help normalize the body’s stress response. An animal study found that astragalus was effective in suppressing the tyrosine hydroxylase enzyme, thereby reducing the release of stress hormones. At the same time, astragalus promoted acetylcholine secretion, shifting rats from a sympathetic to a parasympathetic mode.

Studies suggest that astragalus’s anti-inflammatory effects help protect the brain from stress-induced inflammation and may help prevent neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

Immune health

Astragalus has an immune modulating effect on the immune system. That doesn’t mean, as some people believe, that astragalus will upgrade the immune system of the person with a deficient immune system while downgrading the immune system of the person with an overactive immune system. Plants don’t work this way; rather, astragalus has a complex effect on the immune system, boosting some branches while suppressing others. 

A 2023 review of 19 studies involving 1,094 participants found that astragalus stimulates adaptive immunity, specifically T cell populations. Combined with the study findings of increased “monocytes, neutrophils, and lymphocytes” plus cytokine changes, we’re seeing broad-spectrum immune upregulation, which explains why astragalus works for chronic viral infections, recurrent infections, and immune deficiency conditions. 

At the same time, astragalus significantly reduced  levels of proinflammatory cytokines. 

Studies suggest that astragalus has an anti-viral effect. One study found astragalus beneficial for disrupting the Epstein-Barr virus lifecycle. An in vitro study showed that an extract of astragalus had “potent anti hepatitis B activity.

The blood  

Two organs of the body directly affect blood cell production, storage, and metabolism: the bone marrow and the spleen.

Red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets are produced in the bone marrow. A study found that patients with chronic aplastic anemia, in which the bone marrow fails to produce enough blood cells, are deficient in red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. When these patients were treated with astragalus, they showed significant improvement in hemoglobin, WBC, reticular cells, and platelet levels compared with a control group.

The spleen maintains the vitality of the blood. It filters the blood and breaks down old, malfunctioning red blood cells, recycles iron, and stores white blood cells (B cells and T cells), red blood cells, and iron.

In TCM, the Spleen is responsible for transforming food and drink into Qi (energy) and blood. If someone is lacking Qi or energy, we look for Spleen dysfunction. If a person isn’t absorbing nutrients from the food, they would experience fatigue and sluggishness, loose stools or diarrhoea, poor appetite, weakness, and dryness. Simply, the conditions for which astragalus is specifically indicated. 

Cardiovascular

Astragalus affects the cardiovascular system through multiple pathways.  Through its flavonoids, it protects the heart’s mitochondria from oxidative stress-induced damage. It acts as a vasodilator, reducing blood pressure, and as an antioxidant, maintaining the integrity of the arteries.

A 2011 study showed astragalus improved contactability in patients with heart failure.

Oral use of astragalus resulted in a reduction of LDL and total cholesterol.

Kidney health 

Astragalus benefits for chronic kidney conditions can be attributed to the polysaccharides’ immune-modulating effect, as well as the flavonoids found in the root that reduce oxidative stress associated with inflammation. 

In a 2014 review of 22 studies involving 1323 participants, of whom 241 were receiving dialysis treatment, Astragalus may help decrease serum creatinine levels, reduce the amount of protein lost in urine, and diminish the effects of some complications, such as anemia and malnutrition.

One of the common conditions associated with diabetes is kidney damage through the formation of AGEs, increasing oxidative stress, and inflammation. A 2011 meta-analysis found that astragalus had a protective effect on the kidneys, as measured by BUN (Blood Urea Nitrogen), serum creatinine, and total albumin. 

Metabolic health

A 2024 review of 20 studies involving 953 adults with type 2 diabetes found that taking astragalus, alongside metformin, was more effective than metformin alone for reducing fasting blood glucose and hemoglobin A1C. 

In an animal study, astragalus was found to protect the mitochondria membranes from lipid oxidation. 

Cancer

Cancer-related fatigue is multifactorial. It’s not just “being tired,” rather, it’s a complex syndrome involving inflammatory dysregulation, immune system disruption, anemia in some cases, treatment side effects, psychological factors, and metabolic changes. Astragalus addresses several of these underlying mechanisms through modulating the immune system, reducing inflammation, and increasing vitality.

Anti aging

Telomeres are protective caps on the ends of chromosomes (like plastic tips on shoelaces) that get shorter each time a cell divides. When telomeres get critically short, the cell stops dividing or dies. Telomere shortening is associated with aging and age-related diseases. Chronic stress, inflammation, and oxidative stress accelerate telomere shortening.

Isomers from astragalus have been shown to shorten the rate of telomere shortening, increase telomerase activity, and telomere length after oral ingestion of 5-10 mg in vitro.

Preparation and dosage

Standard decoction: 1-3 cups daily

Tincture dried root: decoct the root for 12 hours or longer, then preserve at 40% A.

Dosage: 0.4-0.8 tsp TID

Glycerite dried roots: 1:8

Dosage: 10-20 ml (2-4 tsp) TID

Syrup dried root: Infuse powdered root 1:8 in 50% Honey

Dosage: 2-3 tsp TID

Capsules: 1000-3000 mg TID

TID = 3 times daily

Safety

Astragalus is widely used and well-tolerated. 

You should avoid astragalus in acute conditions with fever, as it closes the skin’s pores. 

Astragalus should be used with caution in autoimmune disease. It shouldn’t be used during an active flare because, as an immune stimulant, it will worsen a flare. 

Recipes For Remedies