Chemical Profiling of Astragalus membranaceus Roots (Fish.) Bunge Herbal Preparation and Evaluation of Its Bioactivity

Abstract

Astragalus membranaceus (Fish.) Bunge is a perennial herb distributed in the northern part of China, and its roots, namely, Hang qi, are included as a natural ingredient in dietary supplement formulations commonly used to treat different disorders such as respiratory infections, diabetes, and heart failure. The availability of a simple method for the determination of the quality of Astragalus herbal preparations could be a challenging issue for commercial purposes. In this study, a liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS)/MS based approach was used to characterize specialized metabolite recovery of 3 commercial hydroalcoholic extracts of A. membranaceus (AMG1, AMG2, AMG3) in addition to a hydroalcoholic extract of A. membranaceus root (AST). The hypoglycemic effect, cholinesterase inhibition, and antioxidant activities were also evaluated. Thirty-one compounds, of which 19 polyphenols and 12 saponins, were identified. The extracts were also quantified by using a sensitive and selective Q-Trap system for their content in flavonoids and astragalosides, selecting astragaloside I and IV as chemical markers. From our results, AMG3 preparation (Axtragyl) was the most abundant in terms of both specialized classes of metabolites, showing a fingerprint similar to that of AST. Interestingly, tested enzyme inhibition ability of flavonoids, daidzein (11) and formononetin (19), reported a higher α-glucosidase inhibition in comparison with that of acarbose used as positive control. The in silico study clarified the interactions among the molecules and the importance of having a free hydroxy group. Moreover, Axtragyl was able to exert protective effects in Caco-2 cells treated with hydrogen peroxide, confirming its ability as a potential protective agent in intestinal injury.

GC-MS Based Identification of the Volatile Components of Six Astragalus Species from Uzbekistan and Their Biological Activity

“…To the best of our knowledge, no reports regarding the enzyme inhibition of Astragalus essential oils were available, only some studies on the enzyme inhibitory effects of extracts from the members of Astragalus [ 27 , 28 , 29 ]. The presented results could open new windows for potential medical applications of the members of Astragalus.…”

Bioactive Abietane-Type Diterpenoid Glycosides from Leaves of Clerodendrum infortunatum (Lamiaceae)

“…The number and positions of hydroxy groups on natural compounds are crucial structural features to understand their enzyme inhibition [ 26 ]. In our compounds, the presence of one additional hydroxy group at C-4 at compound 6 seems to be involved in the more pronounced α-amylase inhibitory activity in comparison with compound 7 , where the methoxy substituents and sugar moiety could affect negatively on the inhibitory activity [ 27 , 28 ].…”

Alleviation of liver cirrhosis and associated portal-hypertension by Astragalus species in relation to their UPLC-MS/MS metabolic profiles: a mechanistic study

“…Peak 28 was assigned as formononetin-7-O-glucoside (ononin). This identification was based on the daughter ion peak at m/z 267.26 which corresponds to [formononetin-H] − 43 . The [M-H] − ion at m/z 429.4 with additional 162.14 Da indicated that formononetin was attached to a glucosyl moiety.…”