• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.474-485
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• 2013

Pharmacological studies and clinical practices have indicated that Radix Astragali, a dried root of Astragalus membranaceus possesses a lot of biological activities, including antioxidant, hepatoprotective, anti-diabetic, tonic, diuretic, antimicrobial, antiviral, and immunological activities. These biological activities approved by the modern pharmacological studies are mainly due to the constituents of Astragalus membranaceus including polysaccharides, saponins, flavonoids, amino acids, and trace elements. In resent, the main constituents in the root part showing a lot of biological activities has been isolated also from the aboveground parts such as leaves and sprouts in our laboratory. However, the safety evaluation for the aboveground parts of Astragalus membranaceus should be checked before expanding their application as one of food. In the study, a 90-day rat oral gavage study has been conducted with the extracts from Astragalus membranaceus-above-ground parts at doses of 1000, 3000, and 5000mg/kg/day. The following endpoints were evaluated: clinical observations, body weight, gross and microscopic pathology, clinical chemistry, and hematology. Based on the analysis of these endpoints, it was estimated that NOEL (no observed effect level) for male rats and NOAEL (no observed adverse effect level) for female rats are 5000mg/kg/day of the water-extracts from Astragalus membranaceus-aboveground parts.