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Review
. 2025 Sep 12;30(18):3721.
doi: 10.3390/molecules30183721.

Research Progress on Chemical Components of Astragalus membranaceus and Treatment of Metabolic Syndrome

Taiyu Liu  1 , Yumu Sun  1 , Xueying Zhao  1
Affiliations
Review

Research Progress on Chemical Components of Astragalus membranaceus and Treatment of Metabolic Syndrome

Taiyu Liu et al. Molecules. .

Abstract

Astragalus membranaceus (AM), also known as Huangqi in Chinese, refers to the dried root of two Leguminosae species: AM (Fisch.) Bge. and its variety AM (Fisch.) Bge. var. mongholicus (Bge.) Hsiao. In recent years, research on AM has been published in many papers. Its role in treating metabolic syndrome (MetS) has attracted increasing attention. This review summarizes the research progress over the past five years on the chemical constituents of AM and its therapeutic potential in MetS-related diseases. Chemical analyses of AM have gradually expanded from its roots to its stems, leaves, and entire plant. The major compounds isolated from AM include flavonoids, saponins, and polysaccharides. Extraction methods include ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry and in vitro intestinal absorption models combined with high-performance liquid chromatography-photodiode array-tandem mass spectrometry. AM and its active components exert beneficial effects on metabolic disorders such as type 2 diabetes mellitus, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, obesity, hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases. These effects are achieved mainly through mechanisms such as reducing oxidative stress and inflammation, modulating gut microbiota, regulating lipid metabolism, improving insulin resistance, and protecting pancreatic β-cell function. This review provides a reference for further studies on treatment of MetS of AM.

Keywords: Astragalus membranaceus; cardiovascular diseases; chemical constituents; hypertension; metabolic syndrome; non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; obesity; type 2 diabetes mellitus.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Some flavonoids isolated from AM (Numbers (1)–(28) represent compound numbers).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Some saponin compounds isolated from the leaves of AM (Numbers (29)–(40) represent compound numbers).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Some saponin compounds isolated from the aerial parts of AM (Numbers (41)–(52) represent compound numbers).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Some saponin compounds isolated from the leaves of AM (Numbers (53)–(68) represent compound numbers).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Some saponin compounds isolated from the stems and leaves of AM (Numbers (69)–(86) represent compound numbers).
Figure 6
Figure 6
Regulation mechanisms of AM on GLP-1 (Green ↑ means increase).
Figure 7
Figure 7
Mechanism of AM multi-target intervention in NAFLD (Green ↑ means increase; red ↓ means decrease).
Figure 8
Figure 8
Mechanisms of AM in treating MetS (Green ↑ means increase; red ↓ means decrease/suppress).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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