Review of the pharmacological effects of astragaloside IV and its autophagic mechanism in association with inflammation

Abstract

Astragalus membranaceus Bunge, known as Huangqi, has been used to treat various diseases for a long time. Astragaloside IV (AS-IV) is one of the primary active ingredients of the aqueous Huangqi extract. Many experimental models have shown that AS-IV exerts broad beneficial effects on cardiovascular disease, nervous system diseases, lung disease, diabetes, organ injury, kidney disease, and gynaecological diseases. This review demonstrates and summarizes the structure, solubility, pharmacokinetics, toxicity, pharmacological effects, and autophagic mechanism of AS-IV. The autophagic effects are associated with multiple signalling pathways in experimental models, including the PI3KI/Akt/mTOR, PI3K III/Beclin-1/Bcl-2, PI3K/Akt, AMPK/mTOR, PI3K/Akt/mTOR, SIRT1–NF-κB, PI3K/AKT/AS160, and TGF-β/Smad signalling pathways. Based on this evidence, AS-IV could be used as a replacement therapy for treating the multiple diseases referenced above.

Keywords: Astragaloside IV; Pharmacological effect; Autophagy; Inflammation

Core Tip: Astragaloside IV (AS-IV) is one of the main active ingredients of the aqueous extract Huangqi. Many experimental models have shown that AS-IV has broad beneficial effects on various diseases. This review demonstrates and summarizes the pharmacological effects and autophagic mechanism of AS-IV. The autophagic effects are associated with inflammation or not and multiple signalling pathways in experimental models. Based on this evidence, AS-IV will be used as replacement therapy for treating the above various diseases.