Heart-Healthy Benefits of Astragalus

12-month clinical study.⁽⁵⁴⁾

154 women past menopause with metabolic syndrome (including high blood pressure) randomly divided into 3 groups:⁽⁵⁴⁾

• Conventional medical treatment (control group).
• Conventional treatment and 5 g/day of astragalus supplement.
• Conventional treatment and 10 g/day of astragalus supplement.

Higher doses of astragalus significantly improved function in the left ventricle of the heart compared to control group.⁽⁵⁴⁾

12-month clinical study.⁽¹⁶⁷⁾

119 patients with hypertension and metabolic syndrome, randomly divided in 3 groups:⁽¹⁶⁷⁾

• Conventional medical treatment (control group).
• Conventional treatment and 5 g/day of astragalus supplement.
• Conventional treatment and 10 g/day of astragalus supplement.

Small doses of astragalus over the long term (at least a year) may protect kidneys and arteries from damage caused by high blood pressure.⁽¹⁶⁷⁾

2-week clinical study.⁽¹⁶⁸⁾

122 elderly patients with hypertension, randomly divided in 2 groups:⁽¹⁶⁸⁾

• Conventional medical treatment (control group).
• Conventional treatment and astragalus injections.

Astragalus significantly improved 2 important indicators of damage in the arteries of elderly people with high blood pressure.^(168, 169)

12-month clinical study.⁽¹⁷⁰⁾

206 patients ages 18-60 years old with hypertension and metabolic syndrome, randomly divided in 3 groups:⁽¹⁷⁰⁾

• Conventional medical treatment (control group).
• Conventional treatment and astragalus injections.
• Conventional treatment and 10 g/day of astragalus supplement.

In women, astragalus intake was linked to significantly better results in:⁽¹⁷⁰⁾

• Decreased triglyceride cholesterol levels.
• Improved heart and vascular function.

Total cholesterol and one indicator of arterial disease improved in men. Interestingly the protective effect of astragalus was better in female patients.⁽¹⁷⁰⁾

10 to 20-day clinical study.⁽¹⁷¹⁾

190 patients with unstable angina, randomly divided in 3 groups:⁽¹⁷¹⁾

• Conventional medical treatment (control group, 53 patients).

• Conventional treatment and 30-50ml astragalus injections (65 patients).

• Conventional treatment and placebo (72 patients).

At the higher dosage, astragalus:⁽¹⁷¹⁾

• Improved heart function.
• Reduced inflammatory markers.

Results showed astragalus was more effective than conventional treatment by itself (or with placebo).⁽¹⁷¹⁾

28-week double-blind, randomized, controlled, crossover clinical study.⁽¹⁷²⁾

40 patients with metabolic syndrome, randomly divided in 2 groups:⁽¹⁷²⁾

• Daily placebo.
• 16 mg/day of TA-65 compound from astragalus.

After a 3-week period with no treatment (washout period), the groups' treatments were switched for another 12 weeks.⁽¹⁷²⁾

Compared to when patients were taking placebo, the astragalus compound showed the following beneficial cardiovascular effects:⁽¹⁷²⁾

• Increased HDL cholesterol levels.
• Decreased inflammatory markers.
• Reduced BMI and waist circumference.
• Lower LDL/HDL ratio.