Medicinal Plant Research 2025, Vol.15, No.4, 188-196 http://hortherbpublisher.com/index.php/mpr 194 Astragalus is a valuable paradigm of the potential of traditional herbal medicine to complement standard therapies in treating intricate, long-term diseases. With its action on various physiological processes—such as oxidative stress, inflammation, and immune response—it provides an integrative approach in excellent agreement with current concepts of personalized and integrative medicine. In combination with standard Western therapy, Astragalus has been shown to have therapeutic effectiveness, a reduction of side effects, and increased clinical effectiveness, therefore enhancing its place in integrative healthcare strategies. Despite encouraging outcomes, current clinical trials are limited by small numbers of subjects, nonstandardized intervention regimens, and incomplete safety data. In order to yield sound evidence, upcoming studies should aim to perform large numbers of multicenter and well-designed randomized controlled trials. These trials must apply standardized preparations of Astragalus, identical dosage regimens, and complete outcome measures to assess efficacy and safety more precisely. Furthermore, integration with pharmacological, biomarker, and systems biology approaches will be necessary to clarify mechanisms of action and optimize its clinical applications. Synthesis of the evidence base in this way will facilitate the modernization of TCM and allow Astragalus to be included in evidence-based clinical practice for cardiometabolic conditions. Acknowledgments The authors extend heartfelt gratitude to the research team for their dedicated support and active collaboration throughout the study's development and data collection process. Additionally, the authors acknowledge the valuable feedback provided by two anonymous peer reviewers during the manuscript review process, whose constructive suggestions played a vital role in refining and enhancing the paper's quality. Conflict of Interest Disclosure The authors affirm that this research was conducted without any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. References Andrade C., 2020, Understanding the basics of meta-analysis and how to read a forest plot: As simple as it gets, The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 81(5): 20f13698. https://doi.org/10.4088/JCP.20f13698 Brush P., Sherman M., and Lambrechts M., 2024, Interpreting meta-analyses: A guide to funnel and forest plots, Clinical Spine Surgery, 37(1): 40-42. https://doi.org/10.1097/BSD.0000000000001534 Chan K., Kwong A., Tsui P., Cheung S., Chan G., Choi W., Yiu W., Zhang Y., Wong M., Zhang Z., Tan K., Lao L., and Tang S., 2021, Efficacy, safety and response predictors of adjuvant Astragalus for diabetic kidney disease (READY): Study protocol of an add-on, assessor-blind, parallel, pragmatic randomised controlled trial, BMJ Open, 11: e042686. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-042686 Chen M., Fu B., Zhou H., and Wu Q., 2025, Therapeutic potential and mechanistic insights of astragaloside IV in the treatment of arrhythmia: A comprehensive review, Frontiers in Pharmacology, 16: 1528208. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2025.1528208 Chen Q., Wang J., Sun L., Ba B., and Shen D., 2024, Mechanism of Astragalus membranaceus (Huangqi, HQ) for treatment of heart failure based on network pharmacology and molecular docking, Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, 28(10): e18331. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcmm.18331 Chen X., Han H., He Z., and Xu X., 2021, Immune mechanism, gene module, and molecular subtype identification of Astragalus membranaceus in the treatment of dilated cardiomyopathy: An integrated bioinformatics study, Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine: eCAM, 2021: 2252832. https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/2252832 Dong M., Li J., Yang D., Li M., and Wei J., 2023, Biosynthesis and pharmacological activities of flavonoids, triterpene saponins and polysaccharides derived from Astragalus membranaceus, Molecules, 28(13): 5018. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28135018 Han X., Yu T., Chen X., Du Z., Yu M., and Xiong J., 2024, Effect of Astragalus membranaceus on left ventricular remodeling in HFrEF: A systematic review and meta-analysis, Frontiers in Pharmacology, 15: 1345797. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2024.1345797 Hong K., Liu P., Zhang W., Gui D., and Xu Y., 2023, The efficacy and safety of Astragalus as an adjuvant treatment for type 2 diabetes mellitus: A systematic review and meta-analysis, Journal of Integrative and Complementary Medicine, 31(5): 378-386. https://doi.org/10.1089/jicm.2022.0767
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