An information about the Astragalus

Astragalus is also known by other names such as Astragalus membranaceous, Huang Qi, Bei Qi, Hwanggi, Milk Vetch. Actually astragalus is a plant found in native asia. Astragalus is produced in the form of decoction means roots are first boiled in water and later cover is removed. Astragalus has a good quality of combining with other herbs also such as ginseng. It is also available as supplements in certain food stores.

Astragalus basically used in traditional chinese medicine for treating night sweats, energy tonics and diarrhea. It can also help in reducing the effects of certain drugs which suppress the immune system like Imuran, cellcept, cyclosporine, prograf, rapamune etc. But astragalus plays an important role in increasing the effectiveness of many antiviral medications like acyclovir and amantadine.

Astragalus Membranaceus is now being purified by supplement companies for the particular natural telomerase activating extracts. Despite lack of evidence and testing, these extracts have started to be marketed as telomere enhancing, and life prolonging extracts. As of January 2009 only three companies offer telomerase activator supplement products from Astragalus: TA Sciences, Terraternal, and RevGenetics provide Astragaloside IV or another extract derived from Astragalus for this purpose. However no independent tests have confirmed that these supplements actually activate telomerase in humans, and even if it does, there exists a theoretical increased risk of cancer as telomeres appear to play a role in the body's anti-tumor defense system by limiting the chances of a harmful mutation.

The key factor which lies with astragalus is to make one's immune function more stronger.

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