Sulfate and selenate uptake were investigated in both selenium (Se) hyperaccumulators (Astragalus racemosus and Astragalus bisulcatus) and closely related nonaccumulator species (Astragalus glycyphyllos and Astragalus drummondii). Sulfur (S) starvation increased Se accumulation, whereas increased selenate supply increased sulfate accumulation in both root and shoot tissues. cDNAs for homologs o...

BACKGROUND Astragalus memebranaceus is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine used in treatment of common cold, diarrhea, fatigue, anorexia and cardiac diseases. Recently, there are growing evidences that Astragalus extract may be a potential anti-tumorigenic agent. Some research showed that the total saponins obtained from Astragalus membranaceus possess significant antitumorigenic activity. Ga...

Astragalus membranaceus is commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine for strengthening the host defense system. Astragalus membranaceus-polysaccharides is an effective component with various important bioactivities, such as immunomodulation, antioxidant, anti-diabetes, anti-inflammation and neuroprotection. In the present study, we determine the effects of Astragalus membranaceus-polysaccha...

Phylogenetic reconstruction for Carex and relatives in tribe Cariceae is complicated by species richness and nearly cosmopolitan distribution. In this investigation, our main objective was to estimate evolutionary relationships in tribe Cariceae using DNA sequence data from two spacer regions in nuclear ribosomal genes (ITS and ETS-1f) combined with noncoding chloroplast DNA (trnL intron, trnL–...

Astragalus polysaccharide is an important bioactive component of Astragalus membranaceus, an herb used in traditional Chinese medicine for treating inflammatory bowel disease. The NOD-like receptor protein 3 inflammasome plays an important role in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease. However, little is known about the role of NOD-like receptor protein 3 inflammasome in Astragalus pol...

AIMS This study is to determine the effect of astragalus and salvia extract on the alteration of myocardium in a rat model of myocardial infarction. METHODS A total of 40 male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into the sham-operated group, the control group, the Astragalus group, the Salvia group, and the compatibility of Astragalus and Salvia and group. The cardiac functions were det...

Background: Astragalus memebranaceus is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine used in treatment of common cold, diarrhea, fatigue, anorexia and cardiac diseases. Recently, there are growing evidences that Astragalus extract may be a potential anti-tumorigenic agent. Some research showed that the total saponins obtained from Astragalus membranaceus possess significant antitumorigenic activity. G...

Inflammation and transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) contribute to the development of peritoneal fibrosis (PF), which is associated with peritoneal dialysis (PD). Astragalus membranaceus (Astragalus) has anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic effects in many diseases. The goal of this study was to determine the anti-fibrotic effects of Astragalus on the PF response to PD. A rat model of PD was ...

Two new Vertomannus species, Vertomannus flavus sp. n. (south Vietnam) and Vertomannus borneensis sp. n. (Borneo) are described. Vertomannus (Elongatomannus), subgen. n. (type species: Vertomannus flavus) is proposed.