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Astragalus root

Dr Thomas Ridley

By Dr Thomas Ridley · Australian Institute of Pharmacognosy

Head of Education and Research

75 min read

Astragalus root - Australian Institute of Pharmacognosy
In this article
  1. 0. Free-teaser block
  2. 1. Nomenclature
  3. 2. Definition
  4. 3. Source and Australian supply
  5. 4. Macroscopy
  6. 5. Microscopy
  7. 6. Chemistry
  8. 7. Named markers and assay limits
  9. 8. TLC fingerprint
  10. 9. HPLC fingerprint
  11. 10. Identity, purity, adulterants and contaminants
  12. 11. Traditional use
  13. 12. Current practice: use, preparations and doses
  14. 13. Clinical evidence
  15. 14. Pharmacology
  16. 15. Safety
  17. 16. Discussion
  18. 17. Conclusions
  19. 18. Research still needed
  20. 19. References
  21. 20. Document control

AIP-PH-ASTMEM · Version 1.0 draft · First published 2026 · Last modified 2026 · Version history · Report an error

Astragalus root (Astragalus mongholicus Bunge; trade and MediHerb name Astragalus membranaceus), Fabaceae

Australian Herbal Pharmacopoeia (working title) · Monograph AIP-PH-ASTMEM · Version 1.0 draft
Date: 2026
Status: working document, version 1.0. Not a statutory standard.
Prepared by: Dr Thomas Ridley, Head of Education and Research, Australian Institute of Pharmacognosy, Cardwell, Queensland.

Figure 1f. Leaves of Astragalus mongholicus: imparipinnate, with many small elliptic leaflets. Gothenburg Botanical Gard
Figure 1f. Leaves of Astragalus mongholicus: imparipinnate, with many small elliptic leaflets. Gothenburg Botanical Garden, 01/06/2014, accession 2011-266. Photograph Averater, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons.

0. Free-teaser block

0.1 Identity card
Monograph number AIP-PH-ASTMEM (MediHerb A–Z list No. 8)
Title Astragalus root (Astragalus mongholicus Bunge), Astragali mongholici radix
Version / year 1.0 draft, 2026. Next review 2029, or sooner if a registered trial of the oral drug reports (section 13)
Accepted binomial Astragalus mongholicus Bunge, Mém. Acad. Imp. Sci. Saint Pétersbourg, sér. 7, 11(16): 25 (1868); IPNI 478720-1. Accepted in the World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), read through ChecklistBank on 29/09/2026 [1]. The name on the MediHerb label and in most trade and clinical literature, Astragalus membranaceus Fisch. ex Bunge (nom. cons.), is a heterotypic synonym in WCVP [1]. Re-checked by Botanical on 29/09/2026 against the WCVP record (release loaded 06/06/2026) that Plants of the World Online publishes; the POWO page itself refused automated access that day
Family Fabaceae (Leguminosae), subfamily Papilionoideae, as classified in WCVP [1,5]
Plant part Whole, dried root, freed from rootlets and rootstock [2]
Latin drug name Astragali mongholici radix (Ph. Eur. 2435) [2]; Astragali radix (JP XVIII, ChP) [3,17]; Radix Astragali (WHO) [4]
Principal synonyms Astragalus membranaceus Fisch. ex Bunge; A. membranaceus var. mongholicus (Bunge) P.K.Hsiao; A. mongholicus var. dahuricus (Fisch. ex DC.) Podlech; A. propinquus Schischk.; Phaca membranacea Fisch. ex Link, and others (section 1) [1]
Common names English: astragalus, membranous milk-vetch, Mongolian milk-vetch. Chinese: huang qi (黄芪). Japanese: ōgi. Korean: hwanggi [4,5]
Pharmacopoeial status elsewhere Ph. Eur.: yes, Astragalus mongholicus root 01/2011:2435, library copy 8th Edition [2]. JP XVIII: yes, Astragalus Root [3]. ChP: yes, Astragali radix (reported by refs 13, 17; the ChP itself not read for this draft). WHO: yes, Radix Astragali, vol. 1, 1999 [4]. BP: carries the Ph. Eur. text [14]. EMA/HMPC, BHP 1996: no monograph found for this species. USP–NF: not confirmed; the USP sells astragaloside IV and Astragalus Root Dry Extract reference standards [46], which points to a compendial text, but the USP–NF itself was not read
Australian status Permissible Ingredients Determination: yes, item 733 ASTRAGALUS MEMBRANACEUS, purposes A, E, H, no specific requirements [9]. Poisons Standard: not scheduled (June 2026 instrument searched 29/09/2026) [10]. ARTG: 244 entries returned for the keyword "astragalus", 29/09/2026, among them MediHerb Astragalus Complex (ARTG 367675) [35]. Introduced: no Australian record in the Atlas of Living Australia [36]; not native, so no Nature Conservation Act 1992 (Qld) permit applies; not listed in the Biosecurity Regulation 2016 (Qld) [34]
Named markers Astragaloside IV (CID 13943297): assay, minimum 0.040 per cent on the dried drug, HPLC-ELSD, Ph. Eur. 2435 [2]. Daidzin (CID 107971) and daidzein (CID 5281708): TLC reference substances [2]. Calycosin-7-O-glucoside (CID 5318267): ChP assay marker, minimum 0.020 per cent as reported [13]; no Ph. Eur. limit. No safety marker is set
Evidence snapshot Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, add-on: Tier C, 19 RCTs (14 injection, 5 granule), very low certainty [24]. Chronic kidney disease, add-on: Tier C, 22 RCTs, 19 of them injected; the 2 oral decoction trials showed no significant change in serum creatinine; very low certainty for the oral drug [22]. Cancer-related fatigue: Tier C, 8 RCTs, all injected preparations [23]. Healthy-adult and athlete trials of oral extracts: Tier C, 4 small RCTs, no consistent clinical benefit [26–29]. Recurrent respiratory infection in children: no eligible placebo-controlled trial [21]. Qi tonic, colds, fatigue: Tier T [4,5]. Immune modulation: Tier P [5,18]
Suggested citation Ridley T. Astragalus root (Astragalus mongholicus Bunge), Astragali mongholici radix. AIP-PH-ASTMEM, version 1.0 draft. Cardwell: Australian Institute of Pharmacognosy; 2026. DOI to be assigned
Provenance Original AIP data: none. Every analytical figure, limit, method and trial result belongs to the source cited beside it. Sections 4, 5, 7, 8, 9 and 10 carry AIP bench data pending (no AIP voucher, section, plate or run yet). The distribution map (Figure 9), charts (Figures 10–15) and drawings (Figures 2, 5, 7) are AIP drawings from cited data
Compiler and review Compiled by Dr Thomas Ridley (Education and Research). Technical review: Dr Fiona MacAllister (Botanical, sections 1-5 and adulterant species in 10), reviewed in 2026; Dr Hana Suzuki (QA, sections 6-10), reviewed in 2026; Dr Eleanor Whitcombe (Medicine, sections 12, 13, 15), reviewed in 2026; Dr Thomas Ridley (Education and Research, evidence and citation audit of all references and figures, sections 6–9 sources, 11, 12, 14–19), reviewed in 2026; Jesse Kirby (Community Outreach, figures and layout), reviewed in 2026. Published: not yet. Last modified: 2026. Version 1.0 draft
Canonical URL /pharmacopoeia/astragalus-membranaceus/ (on publication)
Figure 1. Astragalus mongholicus in cultivation at the Gothenburg Botanical Garden, Sweden, 01/06/2014 (garden accession
Figure 1. Astragalus mongholicus in cultivation at the Gothenburg Botanical Garden, Sweden, 01/06/2014 (garden accession 2011-266, raised from wild-collected seed): erect leafy stems with pinnate leaves and axillary racemes of pale yellow flowers. Photograph Averater, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. Identification from the garden label and the photograph; not an AIP voucher.

0.2 Summary

Astragalus root is the dried taproot of a perennial Asian milk-vetch, Astragalus mongholicus, which grows wild from Siberia to northern China and is now almost all cultivated in northern China. The plant is sold everywhere under its older name, A. membranaceus; the World Checklist treats the two as one species. It does not grow in Australia and every kilogram used here is imported.

The European Pharmacopoeia identifies the drug by its long fibrous root, by fibres with tassel-like ends in the powder, and by a TLC fingerprint read against daidzin and daidzein. It sets one assay, astragaloside IV not less than 0.040 per cent. The Japanese Pharmacopoeia adds a microscopic test that catches the commonest substitute, Hedysarum root, by its crystal fibres. The chemistry varies with root diameter, age and province: thin roots carry more saponin, and in one survey of 31 Chinese batches five fell below the Ph. Eur. minimum.

The clinical record is large and weak. Most trials are Chinese, add-on, unblinded, and use injected preparations that have no counterpart in Australian practice. No trial of the oral drug reaches low certainty for a clinical outcome. Traditional use as a qi tonic is well recorded. The main safety points are its traditional avoidance in acute infection, theoretical interactions with immunosuppressants, and the absence of pregnancy data.

0.3 Contents with extent

Section Estimated extent (A4 pages, draft)
0 Free-teaser block 3
1 Nomenclature 2
2 Definition 0.5
3 Source and Australian supply, with 3.1 origin, climate and chemistry 5
4 Macroscopy 3
5 Microscopy 3
6 Chemistry 3
7 Named markers and assay limits 1.5
8 TLC fingerprint 1.5
9 HPLC fingerprint 2.5
10 Identity, purity, adulterants and contaminants 3
11 Traditional use 1
12 Current practice 2
13 Clinical evidence 4
14 Pharmacology 2
15 Safety 2.5
16–18 Discussion, conclusions, research needed 3
19 References 3
20 Document control 1
Totals (draft) About 50 pages. 34 embedded figures: 11 licensed plant or drug photographs from Wikimedia Commons, 3 licensed photomicrograph or section panels from one open-access paper (none is an AIP photomicrograph), 2 licensed HPLC chromatogram figures (neither is an AIP run), 5 other licensed figures from open-access papers, 3 AIP composites of PubChem structures, 10 AIP drawings and data charts. About 20 tables. 0 AIP photomicrographs, 0 AIP chromatograms, 0 AIP plates. 9 trials or systematic reviews graded, 1 reported ungraded; 12 registered trials listed. 50 numbered references, one of them withdrawn until its full text is read

Gaps stated plainly. AIP holds no vouchered sample and has made no section, plate or run: sections 4, 5, 7, 8, 9 and 10 carry "AIP bench data pending". No licensed photograph of a developed Ph. Eur. 2435 TLC plate was found, so Figure 7 is a zone-order drawing. The licensed chromatograms (Figure 8) are research HPLC runs following the Chinese and Hong Kong methods, not the Ph. Eur. assay. The Chinese Pharmacopoeia was not read for this draft; ChP limits are given as reported by others and labelled so. Fifteen papers are on the library fetch queue and are not cited until read (section 19). ANZCTR refused access on 29/09/2026 and the WHO ICTRP portal did not complete an automated search the same day; Europe PMC was unavailable for searching; Cochrane CENTRAL, Embase, the TGA Database of Adverse Event Notifications and the DAFF BICON import case were not searched. ClinicalTrials.gov and the TGA safety alerts were searched (sections 13 and 15).

0.4 Contributors and access

Compiled by Dr Thomas Ridley, Head of Education and Research. The Botanical review (Dr Fiona MacAllister, sections 1–5 and adulterant species in section 10) is complete. The QA review (Dr Hana Suzuki, sections 6–10), the Medicine review (Dr Eleanor Whitcombe, sections 12, 13 and 15) and the Education and Research evidence and citation audit (Dr Thomas Ridley) are complete; each reviewer is credited once their review is on record (section 20). The first five printed pages are free to read; the full text is for Scholar members and above, under the terms set out on the AIP site.

30 more pages follow · 15,080 words, 32 figures, 14 tables

Still to come in this monograph

  1. 1. Nomenclature
  2. 2. Definition
  3. 3. Source and Australian supply
  4. 4. Macroscopy
  5. 5. Microscopy
  6. 6. Chemistry
  7. 7. Named markers and assay limits
  8. 8. TLC fingerprint
  9. 9. HPLC fingerprint
  10. 10. Identity, purity, adulterants and contaminants
  11. 11. Traditional use
  12. 12. Current practice: use, preparations and doses
  13. 13. Clinical evidence
  14. 14. Pharmacology
  15. 15. Safety
  16. 16. Discussion
  17. 17. Conclusions
  18. 18. Research still needed
  19. 19. References
  20. 20. Document control

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