Astragalosides are bioactive saponins isolated from dried roots of plants of the genus Astragalus, which is used in traditional Chinese medicine. Astragaloside A, also known as astragaloside IV, is known to have diverse protective effects for the cardiovascular, immune, digestive, and nervous systems. More specifically, it protects cardiomyocytes from apoptosis resulting from ischemia/reperfusion and inhibits inflammation signaled through TNF-α. Furthermore, astragaloside A stimulates angiogenesis, promotes the differentiation of neural stem cells, and increases neuroregeneration.
ChEBI: A pentacyclic triterpenoid that is cycloastragenol having beta-D-xylopyranosyl and beta-D-glucopyranosyl residues attached at positions O-3 and O-6 respectively. It is isolated from <ital Astragalus membranaceus var mongholicus.
Astragaloside A (Astragaloside IV) is the primary pure saponin isolated from Astragalus membranaceus, which has been widely used for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. It is the primary pure saponin isolated from Astragalus membranaceus, which has been widely used for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Astragaloside IV improves post-ischemic heart function and ameliorated reperfusion arrhythmias accompanied by a significant increase in myocardial antioxidative enzyme superoxide dismutase activity in rat hearts in vitro. While, Astragaloside IV's protective effect on heart function can be partially abrogated by the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, Nomega-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester.
As the main active ingredient of the Chinese medicine Astragalus membranaceus, Astragaloside A has a good regulatory effect on the heart. It can protect against ischemic and hypoxic cardiomyocytes, protect the heart structure, and enhance heart function.
Pharmaceutical Applications
Astrageloside A has multiple pharmacologic effects, including anti-inflammatory, antifibrotic, antioxidative stress, anti-asthma, antidiabetes, immunoregulation, and cardioprotective effect via numerous signaling pathways. According to the existing studies and clinical practices, Astragaloside A possesses potential for broad application in many diseases.
Astragaloside IV is a well-known AM compound known for its neuroprotective effects. It acts as an antioxidant and reduces cell inflammation and oxidative stress. Astragaloside IV helps protect dopaminergic neurons and promotes neural process outgrowth, potentially therapeutic in PD. All the benefits of this compound for neurodegenerative diseases such as AD, PD, cerebral ischemia, and autoimmune encephalomyelitis. AS-IV maintains dopamine synthesis by increasing enzymes tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and nitric oxide synthase (NOS), which are involved in neuron production pathways, neural signalling, and cell immune responses. The other mechanism of AS-IV in PD disease is the prevention of neuron pathology by a neurotoxicant called 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridium ion (MPP+) throughout the increasing cell survival, inhibiting pro-apoptosis Bax-mediated pathway and caspase protein (Caspase-3) activity which can destroy cellular structures while increasing anti-apoptosis B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2). It also protects neuron mitochondria from apoptosis and DNA damage by inducing Akt to promote binding of hexokinase-II (HK-II) and mitochondria for the protection of neural mitochondria[1].
[1] Veit Ny . “Potential benefits of incorporating Astragalus membranaceus into the diet of people undergoing disease treatment: An overview.” Journal of Functional Foods 77 (2021): Article 104339.
