Astragali Radix, a medicinal herb for invigorating Qi, has anti-aging, anti-tumor, immunoregulatory, blood sugar-and lipid-lowering, anti-fibrosis, anti-radiation and other pharmacological effects. This article reviewed the studies about the chemical components and pharmacological effects of Astragali Radix. According to the theory of quality markers(Q-markers) of Chinese medicinal materials, we predicted the Q-markers of Astragali Radix from traditional efficacy, chemical component validity, measurability, plant phylogeny, and pharmacokinetis. The results showed that total polysaccharides, flavonoids(e.g., calycosin-7-O-β-D-glucoside, formononetin, calycosin, quercetin, and ononin), and saponins(e.g., astragalosides Ⅱ, Ⅲ, and Ⅳ) can be taken as the main Q-markers. This review lays a foundation for regulating the quality research and standard establishment of Astragali Radix, and benefits the control and quality supervision of the production process of Astragali Radix and its related products.
Astragalus Plant ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid/methods* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/pharmacology* ; Flavonoids ; Plant Roots

This study aims to identify the active components and the mechanism of Jingqi Yukui Capsules(JQYK) in the treatment of gastric ulcer based on network pharmacology, and verify some key targets and signaling pathways through animal experiment. To be specific, first, the active components and targets of JQYK were retrieved from a Bioinformatics Analysis Tool for Molecular Mechanism of Traditional Chinese Medicine(BATMAN-TCM) and Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform(TCMSP), and the targets of gastric ulcer from GeneCards and Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man(OMIM) with the search term "gastric ulcer". The common targets of the two were the potential targets of the prescription for the treatment of the di-sease. Then, protein-protein interaction(PPI) network of key targets were constructed based on STRING and Cytoscape 3.7.2, followed by Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG) pathway enrichment by matescape database and pathway visualization by Omicshare. For the animal experiment, the improved method of Okabe was used to induce gastric ulcer in rats, and the model rats were classified into the model group, JQYK high-dose(JQYK-H), medium-dose(JQYK-M), and low-dose(JQYK-L) groups, Anweiyang Capsules(WYA) group, and Rabeprazole Sodium Enteric Capsules(RBPZ) group. Normal rats were included in the blank group. Rats in the blank group and model group were given distilled water and those in the administration groups received corresponding drugs. Then gastric ulcer healing in rats was observed. The changes of the gastric histomorphology in rats were evaluated based on hematoxylin-eosin(HE) staining, and the content of inducible nitric oxide synthase(iNOS) in rat gastric tissue was detected with Coomassie brilliant blue method. The mRNA and protein levels of some proteins in rat gastric tissue were determined by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction(RT-qPCR) and Western blot(WB) to further validate some key targets and signaling pathways. A total of 206 active components and 535 targets of JQYK, 1 305 targets of gastric ulcer, and 166 common targets of the disease and the drug were yielded. According to PPI analysis and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis, multiple key targets, such as interleukin-6(IL-6), tumor necrosis factor(TNF), mitogen-activated protein kinase 1(MAPK1), MAPK3, and MAPK14, as well as nuclear factor kappa-B(NF-κB) signaling pathway, IL-17 signaling pathway, and leukocyte transendothelial migration in the top 20 key signaling pathways were closely related to inflammation. The key protein p38 MAPK and NF-κB signaling pathway were selected for further verification by animal experiment. The gastric ulcer in the JQYK-H group recovered nearly to the level in the blank group, with significant decrease in the content of iNOS in rat gastric tissue and significant reduction in the mRNA and phosphorylation levels of p38 MAPK and the mRNA and protein levels of NF-κB p65 in rat gastric tissue. The results indicated that JQYK can inhibit the phosphorylation of the key protein p38 MAPK and the expression of NF-κB p65 in the NF-κB signaling pathway, thereby exerting the anti-inflammatory effect and effectively improving the quality of gastric ulcer healing in rats. Thus, the animal experiment result verifies some predictions of network pharmacology.
Animal Experimentation ; Animals ; Capsules ; Gastric Mucosa/metabolism* ; Humans ; Network Pharmacology ; Rats ; Stomach Ulcer/genetics*

OBJECTIVE：To compare the protective effects of different effective components of Astragali radix against DNA damage of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells （BMSCs）induced by ionizing radiation. METHODS ：2 Gy X-rays were used to directly irradiate BMSCs to establish a radiation model. CCK- 8 method was used to detect the effects of different mass concentrations（25，50，75，100 μg/mL）of astragalus polysaccharide ，astragalus saponin and astragalus flavonoids for 1 day before radiation + 1 to 5 days after radiation on the proliferation of BMSCs. The dose concentration and the duration of intervention after radiation were selected. The irradiated BMSCs were divided into radiation group ，astragalus polysaccharide group ，astragalus saponin group and astragalus flavonoids group. The last three groups were treated with appropriate dosage of corresponding drugs before and 2 days after radiation ，and a blank groupwas set for comparison. Cytoplasmic division arrest qq.com micronucleus method was used to detect micronucleus cell rate and cell micronucleus rate after appropriate time of was used to detect th e number of 53BP1 foci in cells after appropriare time of intervention following radiation ；the number of 53BP1 foci were compared among different time points （0.5，2，12，24 h）. RESULTS ：Compared with blank group ，OD values of BMSCs were decreased significantly in radiation group （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. Compared with radiation group ，the OD values of BMSCs were significantly increased when 50 μ g/mL astragalus polysaccharide，astragalus saponin and astragalus flavonoids continuously intervened radiation for 2-3 days，there was significant difference in other groups at some time point （P＜0.05 or P＜ 0.01）. After consideration ，drug concentration was determined to be 50 μg/mL，and the continuous intervention time was 2 days after radiation. Compared with blank group ，the micronucleus cell rate and cell micronucleus rate of radiation group ，astragalus polysaccharide group ，astragalus saponin group and astragalus flavonoids group increased significantly ，and the number of 53BP1 focus cluster in radiation group and astragalus polysaccharide group increased significantly （P＜0.01）. Compared with radiation group and astragalus flavonoids group ，the micronucleus cell rate ，cell micronucleus rate and the number of 53BP1 focus cluster （continued intervention for 0.5，2，12 h）in the astragalus polysaccharide group and astragalus saponin group were significantly reduced，and the micronucleus cell rate and cell micronucleus rate in the astragalus polysaccharide group were significantly lower than astragalus saponin group （P＜0.05）. 53BP1 focus cluster could not be detected 24 h later （P＜0.05）. CONCLUSIONS ： Astragalus polysaccharide and astragalus saponin both have protective effects on BMSCs DNA damage induced by radiation ，and the protective effect of astragalus polysaccharide is better than that of astragalus saponin ；astragalus flavonoids has no protective effect on radiation-induced DNA damage.