Huang Qi (Radix Astragali)

This product is commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine. It was originally published in the "ShenNong Materia Medica", listed as top grade, and was originally named HuangQi.

Li ShiZhen said: "Qi means leading, Huang means yellow, it is the leading herb for tonification, hence the name."

Astragalus has many origins and different commodity shapes, according to its original plants and production areas, it is generally divided into three categories: Black Astragalus, White Astragalus and Red Astragalus.

（1） Black Astragalus

Aliases： Bu Kui Qi, Guan Pu Kui Qi, Zheng Kou Qi.

Source： It is a legume perennial herb, mainly Astragalus membranaceus (Fisch.) Bunge. There are also dried roots of Astragalus Inner Mongolia. Wild or cultivated.

Origin： Mainly produced in Qiqihar, Ning'an, Nenjiang, Orunchunqi in Heilongjiang, Jiaohe in Jilin, Yanbian Autonomous Prefecture and other places.

Shape identification： The root is cylindrical, with a reed head (rhizome) at the upper end, a slightly thinner lower end, a few branches and whisker roots, and the tail end is mostly broken. Length 30~90cm, diameter 1~3cm. The thick stripes have many hollow upper ends. The surface is dark brown with pronounced long longitudinal wrinkles or semi-helical wrinkles. Pine skin, firm and light, fibrous in cross section, yellow-white skin on the cross section, bright yellow in xylem, with radial patterns (commonly known as chrysanthemum hearts). The smell is slightly fragrant, the taste is sweet, and the chewing residue is less.

（2） White Astragalus

Aliases： MianHuangQi, JianQi.

The source： It is a legume perennial herb, the main plant is Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus (Bunge) P.K. Hsiao. also has dried roots of Astragalus membranumensis. Most of them are cultivated, but also wild.

Origin： It is mainly produced in Hunyuan, Yingxian, Fanzhi, Daixian in Shanxi, Wuchuan, Xinghe, Zhenglan Qi, and Ximeng in Inner Mongolia, and Zhemeng in western Jilin. Shanxi produces mostly cultivated, and Inner Mongolia produces mostly wild.

Shape identification：

· Ones produced from Hunyuan region contains a cylindrical root with a reed head. Length 70~150cm, some up to 2m, diameter 1~4cm. The root head is slightly enlarged, mostly hollow, and the tail is tapering, with barbel roots, and some with branched roots. The surface is earthy yellow, slightly longitudinal wrinkles and pockmarks, the skin is fine, and the reticulation is not obvious. The cross-section also shows a chrysanthemum heart. Tough and heavy. The smell is light, the taste is sweet and cloudy. It has a bean smell and more chewing residue.

· Ones produced from Inner Mongolian has small reed head, the thickness of the head and tail is uniform, 40~80cm long, and the diameter is 0.6~2cm. The rind is grey-brown with a reticulated texture, with fewer branches and barbel roots, and a distinct chrysanthemum heart. Sweet taste, slightly beany.

（3） Red Astragalus

Source： It is a legume perennial herb, Hedysarum polybotrys Hand—Mazz. of dried roots. Mostly wild.

Origin： It is mainly produced in Gansu Minxian, Douchang, Zhouqu, Lintan, Deulu City, Zhangxian, Xihe, Li County, Huichuan, Wushan and other places, Sichuan Maowen and other places are also produced.

Trait identification： The root is cylindrical, 40~60cm long, 1~3cm in diameter. The rind is reddish-brown, the skin is tight, and the wrinkles are tight and deep. Hard and tough, the section shows chrysanthemum heart, small fibrous and powdery. The smell is light, the taste is sweet, and the chews contain residue.

Black and white Astragalus are thick and long, chrysanthemum heart is distinct, the hollow is small, and the broken skin is preferred.

Red Astragalus is considered best when it has rosy skin, even, firm, and sufficient powder.

The main ingredients： contain alkaloids, folic acid, crystalline neutral substances, bililine, amino acids, etc.

Pharmacological effects： Replenish qi and promote yang, protects surface yang and antiperspiration, reduce swelling, remove toxin and drain pus. The principle is:

（1）Strengthening: the so-called "Qi Tonification". May be related to its congenerative hormonal effects and excitatory central nervous system effects.

（2）Diuresis: the effect is more significant, the urine output after medication increases by 64%, but the effective dose range is small, the dose is too small and there is no diuretic effect, and the dose is too large to reduce urine output.

（3）Anti-nephritis: has a certain anti-inflammatory effect on experimental nephritis, especially in the removal of urine protein. Oral administration of large doses of astragalus powder in rats has inhibitory effect on the onset of serum nephritis and can delay the occurrence of proteinuria and hypercholesterolemia. In patients with pre-existing proteinuria, oral astragalus powder causes recovery faster than in the control group. A large amount of astragalus seems to improve edema and enhance systemic nutritional status.

（4）Antihypertensive: animal experiments have confirmed that it has a hypotensive effect, which may be related to the dilation of blood vessels.

（5）Antibacterial: In vitro experiments have antibacterial effect on Shigella dysenteriae, hemolytic streptococcus, pneumococcus, Staphylococcus aureus, etc.

In addition, astragalus also has the effect of protecting the liver and preventing the decrease of liver glycogen.

Prepared： Sliced, raw or honey.

Taste： Sweet, lukewarm.

Attributed meridians： Lungs and spleen meridians.

Function: Tonify Qi and Protects exterior, improve diuretic and sores.

Main Uses: Deficiency of self-sweating, spleen deficiency and diarrhea, rectal prolapse, sagging of qi, diabetes, carbuncle for a long time without closing and other symptoms.

Clinical application

（1）It is used for chronic debilitation, especially patients with weakness of qi, and it has the effect of stimulating the central nervous system. Patients with fatigue, low voice, and slow pulse can take astragalus, but they need to take more for a long time to take effect.

（2）It is used for rectal prolapse, uterine provexation, visceral prolapse, leakage and other diseases caused by the depression of qi, and plays a role in improving physical fitness and strengthening the muscle tone of the whole body, often combined with Dang Shen, Sheng Ma, Chai Hu, etc., such as tonifying the soup of Bu Zhong Yi Qi.

（3）It is used to treat paralysis. Such as peripheral nerve paralysis, hemiplegia after cerebrovascular accident (stroke), chronic rheumatoid arthritis, periarthritis of the shoulder, etc. The above conditions have pain or paralysis (called blood paralysis) due to weak qi and blood and stagnant clotting. According to the view of "Qi Flows then blood flows, to aid blood one must first aid Qi", astragalus should be used to replenish qi, such as obvious pain symptoms (arthritis and frozen shoulder), with Gui Zhi, Jiang Huang, Dang Gui, etc. to strengthen the analgesic effect, such as Huang Qi Gui Zhi Five Object soup. If patient is paralyzed, it should be combined with Tao Ren, Safflower, Chuan Xiong, Di Long and other blood search drugs, such as Bu Yang Huan Wu soup, and the main medicine is astragalus. This prescription treats the half paralysis of the body after stroke, but it is necessary to grasp the indications when using: the patient is awake and the body temperature is normal; for patients with cerebral hemorrhage, it must be determined that the bleeding has stopped and the pulse is weak before it can be used, if the bleeding has not stopped or the pulse is floating and strong it is unsuitable. The effect is better within three months after the onset of the disease, and the effect is worse after three months. In general, the effect of astragalus in treating central paralysis is not as good as that of treating peripheral paralysis.

（4）It is used to rid of weak energy and self-sweating. Astragalus can benefit the qi and tonify Qi, is the "main medicine of the tonifying the external qi", often used with Bai Zhu, Fang Feng, in soups such as Yu Ping Feng (Jade Screen), can also be used with Mu Li, Fu Xiao Mai, Ma Huang Gen, etc.

（5）For the treatment of acute or chronic nephritis. Astragalus can reduce swelling, reduce proteinuria, and improve the nutritional status of the whole body. For acute nephritis, those with "feng shui" symptoms such as weakness against wind, joint pain, limb edema, pulse floating, etc., can be combined with Fang Ji, Bai Zhu, Gan Cao, such as Fang Ji Huang Qi soup; for limb edema, and even ascites, pulse floating, but not weak against wind, not thirsty and other "skin water" symptoms, can be combined with Fang Ji, Gui Zhi, Fu Ling, Gan Cao, such as Fang Ji Fu Ling soup (see Fang Ji for more info). Because astragalus can reduce proteinuria, if the nephritis edema has subsided, and the proteinuria is still positive, it can be combined with Dang Shen, Ru Dao Gen, Shu Di, etc., or single-flavor concoction can also be served, and preliminary clinical observation has a certain effect on reducing proteinuria. For chronic nephritis, other tonic drugs are often paired with Astragalus.

（6）It is used to treat "long-rot" carbuncles. Predecessors in herbal medicine called astragalus "Key medicine for sore", but in fact it is only suitable for "long-rot" disease. The so-called "long-rot" refers to those who do not heal for a long time after carbuncle ulceration due to weak yang qi (low resistance) (to be treated together with Dang Shen and Rou Gui), or those who have ulcers that do not ulcerate for a long time (to be matched with Jin Yin Hua, Zao Jiao Ci, Hua Fen, etc., such as Nei Tuo Huang Qi Formula). From a modern medical point of view, the main role of astragalus in this regard is to be antibacterial and enhance the body's resistance, so that the carbuncle is easy to ulcerate and heal. However, it should be noted that if the carbuncle is at the beginning, the inflammation is significant, the toxicity is more dramatic, the redness, swelling, heat and pain are obvious, it is not suitable to use astragalus, otherwise it will increase the heat with heat, which will aggravate the condition.

（7） Used to treat Xiao Ke (diabetes). It is often combined with Huai Shan Yao, Sheng Di, Tian Hua Fen, Wu Wei Zi and so on.

Use caution

（1） Although animal experiments have found that astragalus can strengthen cardiac contractility, it is rarely used clinically for patients with cardiac insufficiency and asthma, because it has been observed that these patients often have worse asthma after using astragalus, which is related to the effect of astragalus in lifting qi (stimulating the central nervous system and stimulating smooth muscle contraction) is worth discussing in depth.

（2） Although animal experiments have found that astragalus can lower blood pressure, 10g is used to raise blood pressure and is used to treat low blood pressure, and more than 40g is used to lower blood pressure and is used to treat high blood pressure. It is only used for Yang-deficiency heart issues. Yang hyperactivity should not use astragalus.

（3） Astragalus should not be used for indigestion, epigastric fullness and Overacting, or yang excess, etc.

（4） Compared with ginseng and Dang Shen: astragalus is good at tonifying the qi of the muscle surface, suitable for those who are deficient; ginseng (and Dang Shen) is good at replenishing the qi of the five internal organs, suitable for those who are deficient. The combination of ginseng and Astragalus makes the tonic more comprehensive and strengthened.

（5） Raw astragalus is used to reduce hypothermia and support sores recovery; burnt astragalus is used to further tonify qi.

When you think that astragalus is too "hot" for a long time, you can add Zhi Mu and Xuan Shen to clear it.

Dosage： Generally 9~15g. To treat nephritis and severe paralysis, a large amount should be used, which can be used up to 30~90g.

Examples of prescriptions

（1） Bu Zhong Yi Qi Soup (from "Spleen and Stomach Theory"): Astragalus 6g Burnt Gan Cao 6g Dang Shen 12g Bai Zhu 4.5g Dang Gui 3g Tangerine peel 3g Sheng Ma 3g Chai Hu 3g cook with water.

（2） Astragalus Guizhi Five Object Soup (from "Strategies from Golden Cabinet"): Astragalus 18g White Peony 9g Gui Zhi 6g Ginger 9g Jujube 4 pieces cooked in water.

（3） Bu Yang Huan Wu Soup (from " Correcting Mistakes in the Forest of Medicine"): Raw Astragalus 30~120g Dang Gui tail 9g Red peony 4.5g Di Long 3g Chuan Xiong 3g Tao Ren 3g Safflower 3g cooked with water.

（4） Nei Tuo Huang Qi Formula: Astragalus 9g Dang Gui 9g Chuan Xiong 6g Bai Zhu 9g Yin Hua 9g Zao Jiao Ci 6g Pollen 6g Ze Xie 6g Licorice 3g cook with water.

Annotations

1. Astragalus produced in the Mongolian People's Republic is called Kulunqi or orthoAstragalus. The outer skin is brown, the reticulation is obvious, the body is light and powdery, the smell is sweet, and it is customary to think that it is of good quality.

2. The same genus of plants of Astragalus has been found more in the southwest and northwest regions in recent years, and it has been reported that the roots of Astragalus nigrica, Astragalus golden-winged, Astragalus multiflora, Astragalus maowen, Astragalus yunnan, Astragalus suddena and so on have been used as astragalus medicinal crops in different regions. Its traits are similar to those of Astragalus.

3. In some areas, the roots of the legume alfalfa plant alfalfa or the grass tree plant are mistakenly used as astragalus. Their common feature is that it is woody, the cutting surface is viewed under a microscope, the fiber bundle is not crystallined, and the astragalus has crystals.

Case Study: Hearing Loss

Patient: Michelle, female

Date of first appointment: May 20, 2020

Chief Complaint: Loss of 80% hearing in one ear and phlegm in throat. The pulse is thin and choppy, and the tongue is pale and greasy.

TCM diagnosis: deafness due to wind-phlegm blocking orifice (inner ear labyrinth obstruction caused by stroke c).

TCM treatment: dispelling wind and phlegm and opening orifices, promoting blood circulation and dredging collaterals, invigorating spleen, invigorating qi and dispelling dampness.

TCM prescription: Huang Qi 50g, Dang Gui 20g, Ji Xue Teng 20g, Chuan Xiong 10g, Chi Shao 10g, Di Long 10g, Hong Hua 10g, Tao Ren 10g, Gui Zhi 10g, Dan Shen 10g, Zhi Tian Nan Xing 10g, Bei Mu 10g, Gua Lou 10g, Shi Chang Pu 10g, Jin Jie 10g, Chai Hu 10g, Cang Zhu 10g, Yi Yi Ren 10g, Fu Ling 10g

Patient feedback: Symptoms (deafness) disappeared within an hour of drinking the herbal decoction.

Disclaimer: All above articles are for reference only. If patients are interested, please consult a professional practitioner Traditional Chinese Medicine for a consultation.

Learn About Chinese Herbs -Huang Qi (Radix Astragali)-