What Is the Astragalus Membranaceus Extract Ingredient Astragalus Polysaccharides?

Astragalus polysaccharide [1] is a water-soluble heteropolysaccharide that is made by extracting, concentrating and purifying the dried roots of the legume plants Astragalus mongholicus or Astragalus membranaceus. It is light yellow in color, fine in powder, uniform and free of impurities, and hygroscopic. It contains nutrients such as polysaccharides, saponins, flavonoids, 22 amino acids and 14 trace elements. It can not only improve immunity, but also regulate immune function. It also has a variety of effects such as antiviral, anticancer, and anti-aging. Polysaccharides, saponins, flavonoids and other nutrients such as 22 amino acids and 14 trace elements.

1 Determination of the content of astragalus polysaccharide in astragalus

There are not many methods for determining the content of astragalus polysaccharides in astragalus. High performance liquid chromatography and ultraviolet spectrophotometry are generally used. According to the literature, there are studies by Zhai Cuiyun et al. [2], Yang Li et al. [3], Zhang Hongbo et al. [4], Tian Luo et al. [5], and Yan Qiaojuan et al. [6]. The above literature basically refers to the “Ministry of Agriculture Veterinary Drug Quality Standards (Volume 3) Astragalus polysaccharide injection content determination” and uses ultraviolet spectrophotometry (phenol-sulfuric acid method) to determine the content of astragalus polysaccharide. The method was verified by the results, and the method has relatively good results in terms of recovery, linearity, repeatability, and stability.

2 Comparison of various extraction methods for astragalus polysaccharides in astragalus

Whether astragalus polysaccharides can be used in industrial production is generally examined in terms of the extraction process: ① The extraction rate of astragalus polysaccharides is related to the feasibility of the extraction process. ② The amount of sugar that can be extracted from crude astragalus. 3. In practice, according to the environmental protection requirements of relevant national laws, it is seen whether the extraction process of astragalus polysaccharide is in line with the existing economic benefits and has no pollution to the environment. 4. According to the extraction process, the extracted astragalus polysaccharide is tested for activity to see whether the activity of the extracted astragalus meets expectations.

The extraction process of astragalus polysaccharide generally adopts the water boiling and alcohol precipitation method because it is relatively simple. The process is as follows: Astragalus powder is made into a powder, boiled in multiple batches with different amounts of water, condensed and refluxed, and the filtrate is combined. A certain volume of ethanol or methanol is added according to the amount of filtrate, and the mixture is centrifuged and then dried to obtain crude astragalus polysaccharide. On this basis, various aspects of astragalus polysaccharide extraction experiments have been studied.

Li Hongmin et al. [7] compared the extraction rates of Astragalus membranaceus using water, calcium oxide aqueous solution and sodium carbonate aqueous solution, respectively. The result showed that the extraction rate of CaO was the highest (11.7%), which was 3.25 times the extraction rate of water extraction (3.6%) and 2 times the extraction rate of Na2CO3 aqueous solution (5.7%). is 3.25 times that of the water extraction method (3.6%), and 2.05 times that of the Na2CO3 aqueous solution extraction recovery rate (5.7%).

Han Fenglan et al. [8] compared several commonly used extraction methods for astragalus polysaccharides in astragalus by using a large number of experiments. It was found that the extraction rate of astragalus polysaccharides by conventional water extraction was 5.46%, while the extraction rate of astragalus polysaccharides by calcium oxide aqueous solution was 6.68%, and the extraction rate of astragalus polysaccharides by sodium carbonate aqueous solution reached 10.06%. Finally, the extraction rate of astragalus polysaccharides by superfine grinding technology reached polysaccharide extraction rate was 6.68%, while the extraction rate of astragalus polysaccharide using sodium carbonate aqueous solution reached 10.06%, and finally the extraction rate of astragalus polysaccharide using superfine grinding technology could also reach 6.28%.

Ding Li Jun et al. [9] focused on a different aspect, investigating the influence of environmental conditions on the extraction yield of astragalus polysaccharides. In the same environment, one group was extracted using a water bath at 60 °C to 90 °C, while another group was treated in a high-power ultrasonic field at 30 °C for 30 min. Another group was heated with microwaves for 3 min. microwave heating for 3 min. Judging from the final extraction rate of astragalus polysaccharides, the extraction rate of astragalus polysaccharides by water bath extraction method is better than that of ultrasonic extraction method and microwave extraction method. Judging from the results, it is possible that the extraction temperature of astragalus polysaccharides should not be too high, especially because microwave extraction generates strong heat, which destroys the effective components of astragalus. Through comparison of different water bath temperatures, the optimal conditions for extracting astragaloside by water bath were found to be a temperature of 90°C, an extraction time of 3 h, and a solid-liquid ratio of 1:60. The astragaloside extraction rate was measured to be 5.94%.

3 The Astragalus polysaccharide's medicinal value and its application in livestock and poultry farming

Numerous experiments at home and abroad have shown that astragalus polysaccharide in astragalus has great medicinal value. It not only enhances the body's immunity, but also has a certain effect on the body's blood sugar, blood pressure, heart, anti-aging, and anti-oxidation. It is often used clinically to improve resistance, fight cancer, and eliminate inflammation. Veterinary medicine is currently used in veterinary medicine to improve the immunity of livestock and poultry products, mainly against infectious fowl sarcoma, with obvious results. In veterinary clinical trials, it was accidentally discovered that astragalus polysaccharides have a certain effect on increasing animal production, thus discovering another aspect of astragalus polysaccharides as a feed additive, making it increasingly widely used in animal husbandry production.

3. 1. Improving the production performance of livestock and poultry

Jin Guangming et al. [11] added polysaccharides extracted from Astragalus to the daily drinking water of chicks at 100 mg/L, 200 mg/L, 300 mg/L, 400 mg/L and 0 mg/L, respectively, and weighed the chicks that drank the water with Astragalus polysaccharides every day. It was found that chickens that drank the water gained significantly more weight than those that did not.

 Li Tongzhou et al. [12] added 0.02%, 0.05% and 0.1% astragalus polysaccharide to pig feed and measured several basic indicators of weaned piglets: production performance, nutrient digestibility, average diarrhea rate and other indicators. The test The results showed that astragalus polysaccharide can not only increase the daily weight gain of weaned piglets, but also reduce the diarrhea rate of piglets and improve the nutrient conversion rate of weaned piglets. Experiments have proved that the addition of 0.05% astragalus polysaccharide to the feed has the most significant effect on weight gain. Lv Mei [13] found that adding astragalus polysaccharides to chicken feed at different concentrations can not only significantly increase the weight of broiler chickens, but also reduce the feed-to-meat ratio and improve economic efficiency.

3.2 Enhancing the body's anti-aging and anti-oxidation capabilities

With progress and scientific development, scientists have discovered that animals in the natural world produce active oxygen free radicals (O2–) during the metabolic process, and there is a dynamic balance between the production and elimination of active oxygen free radicals. The elimination of oxygen free radicals mainly depends on the preventive and blocking control of the animal's own antioxidant defense system to promote or enhance the elimination of oxygen free radicals, so as to achieve the body's anti-aging and anti-oxidation ability.

Ling Hong et al. [14] concluded from their study of a mouse aging model and an AS rabbit model that astragalus polysaccharide can significantly increase blood SOD, CAT and GSH-Px activity, and reduce LPO levels in plasma, brain homogenate and liver homogenate. It also significantly significantly reduced the levels of TG, TC, LDL-C, ApoA, ApoB, MDA and TRAC, and increased the levels of HDL-C and SOD.

3. 3. By improving the intestinal microbial flora, the conversion rate of nutrients is increased

Hou Weige et al. [15] added astragalus polysaccharides to the feed and found that the beneficial flora in the intestines of weaned piglets, such as Lactobacillus, increased significantly, improving the digestion of weaned piglets. Li Shupeng Peng [16] and others added 220 mg/kg astragalus polysaccharide, 4 × 10 cfu/g probiotic agent and 220 mg/kg astragalus polysaccharide + 4 × 10 cfu/g probiotic agent to the basal diet, respectively. A comparative test found that astragalus polysaccharide used together with the probiotic agent had a significantly better weight gain effect than the astragalus polysaccharide or probiotic agent used alone. Studies on the intestinal microbial flora found that it had a proliferative effect on beneficial microorganisms such as lactobacilli and bifidobacteria, and had an inhibitory effect on harmful flora such as Escherichia coli in the intestine.

4 Outlook

Research on astragalus polysaccharides has found that they not only have medicinal value, but also have great development potential in animal feed, especially in livestock and poultry farming. They can not only improve the resistance of the animals being fed, but also increase the yield of livestock and poultry products. In particular, at present, environmental protection in livestock and poultry farming is becoming more and more important, and it is imperative to find alternatives to antibiotics. Therefore, astragalus polysaccharides are of great significance for preventing and controlling livestock and poultry diseases, promoting “antibiotic-free” livestock and poultry feed, or reducing the use of antibiotics, to ensure the safety and environmental protection of livestock and poultry production [17].

However, the technological means of extracting and purifying astragalus polysaccharides have not yet reached their optimum; its pathological mechanism of action has not yet been fully understood, and it is not yet known whether it has an impact on human health. In the future, research in this area needs to be strengthened in order to develop astragalus polysaccharide products that are more suitable for livestock and poultry farming.

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