Ancient herb astragalus shields lungs from radiation damage in mice
Yao J, Wang H, Zheng Z, Yang J, Ma J
Medicinal Plants
The astragalus root sold in herbal shops and grown by some gardeners as an ornamental legume isn't just folk medicine hype; researchers just traced its lung-protective effect to a single identifiable molecule.
Scientists gave mice a compound from astragalus root, an herb used in Chinese medicine for centuries to support lung health, before exposing them to radiation similar to what cancer patients receive during chest radiotherapy. The treated mice had less lung inflammation, scarring, and tissue damage than untreated mice. The researchers traced this protective effect to a specific molecule in the plant called formononetin, which switches on a cellular stress-defense system.
Key Findings
AM treatment reduced lung inflammation, fibrosis, and histological damage in mice given a single 15 Gy whole-thorax X-ray dose
AM activated the Nrf2 antioxidant pathway, boosting protective proteins HO-1 and NQO1; 86 AM-derived compounds were detected in lung tissue
Molecular docking and MD simulations identified formononetin as a stable Keap1-binder, and its anti-inflammatory effect was confirmed in cell assays and reversed by Nrf2 inhibitors
chevron_right Technical Summary
A mouse study found that Astragalus root, a traditional Chinese herb, protects lungs from radiation damage by activating the body's own antioxidant defenses, and pinpoints a specific plant compound likely responsible for the effect.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
The protective effects and material basis of Astragalus membranaceus in the prevention and treatment of radiation-induced lung injury via modulation of the Keap1-Nrf2 signaling pathway.
Astragalus membranaceus (AM), first documented in "Shennong Bencao Jing", is used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) to tonify lung qi. Radiation-induced lung injury (RILI), a serious complicati...
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