Mitochondrial protection and anti-aging activity of Astragalus polysaccharides and their potential mechanism
Kristen Sparrow • March 14, 2022
I’m posting for reference. There are issues with this article so that I’m not quite sure what to make of it. One is that I think there is now some doubt about the free radical theory. Two is that the mice were injected with an astragulus concentrate so perhaps not many conclusions can be drawn as to the efficacy of oral Astragalus in humans.
Li XT, Zhang YK, Kuang HX, et al. Mitochondrial protection and anti-aging activity of Astragalus polysaccharides and their potential mechanism. Int J Mol Sci. 2012;13(2):1747-1761. doi:10.3390/ijms13021747
Abstract
The current study was performed to investigate mitochondrial protection and anti-aging activity of Astragalus polysaccharides (APS) and the potential underlying mechanism. Lipid peroxidation of liver and brain mitochondria was induced by Fe2+–Vit C in vitro. Thiobarbituric acid (TBA) colorimetry was used to measure the content of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS). Mouse liver mitochondrial permeability transition (PT) was induced by calcium overload in vitro and spectrophotometry was used to measure it. The scavenging activities of APS on superoxide anion (O2•−) and hydroxyl radical (•OH), which were produced by reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH)—N-Methylphenazonium methyl sulfate (PMS) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)–Fe2+ system respectively, were measured by 4-nitrobluetetrazolium chloride (NBT) reduction and Fenton reaction colorimetry respectively. The Na2S2O3 titration method was used to measure the scavenging activities of APS on H2O2. APS could inhibit TBARS production, protect mitochondria from PT, and scavenge O2•−, •OH and H2O2 significantly in a concentration-dependent manner respectively. The back of the neck of mice was injected subcutaneously with D-galactose to induce aging at a dose of 100 mg/kg/d for seven weeks. Moreover, the activities of catalase (CAT), surperoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and anti-hydroxyl radical which were assayed by using commercial monitoring kits were increased significantly in vivo by APS. According to this research, APS protects mitochondria by scavenging reactive oxygen species (ROS), inhibiting mitochondrial PT and increasing the activities of antioxidases. Therefore, APS has the effect of promoting health.
