Astragaloside IV is a newly discovered, super potent nutrient that is found in the herb astragalus. For many years astragalus was associated with Chinese medicine and helping to boost the immune system. Since astragaloside has been able to be extracted and concentrated, quite a bit of research has been done on it, and it's now known and researched mostly for aging and telomere health. Health and longevity is largely dependent on the length and quality of our telomeres. These important components of our DNA can be described as a type of cap on the end of our DNA strands, and help protect the integrity of them.
The length of telomeres has been associated with quickened aging, atherosclerosis, heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and even Alzheimer’s disease according to research. Telomerase is an extremely important enzyme that helps telomeres repair themselves. In 2009, Elizabeth Blackburn won the Nobel Prize for discovering how this important enzyme helps rebuild our telomeres. Mice that are genetically engineered to lack telomerease age very quickly and become weak, frail, and diseased. When the enzyme was replaced, mice quickly bounced back, almost miraculously so. (1) It may not be a magic bullet that grants eternal youth and reverses all illnesses, but research has been very positive and powerful so far. (2,3)
Astragaloside IV is especially powerful because it contains the other astragalosides. Research shows benefits to the immune system, inflammation, and for the liver, heart, brain and more. Astragaloside also shows good anti-bacterial/viral, and anti-glycation effects. There’s also research showing that it caused sciatic nerve regeneration. (4) Astragaloside confers powerful cardiovascular benefits as well. (5,6,7) The powerful anti-inflammatory effects add to those benefits, as inflammation is at the core of many disease states. (7,8) Studies on mice also showed increased glucose tolerance. (9) There also seem to be protective effects on gastric and neural tissues after injury. The effects that astragaloside IV had following an induced brain hemorrhage were very impressive, inducing multiple protective mechanisms. (11)
Suggested use: 50 mgs once per day with water on an empty stomach. Absorption may be improved when used mixing with 5-10mgs of piperine along with some ginger extract.
Resources
- http://www.nature.com/news/2010/101128/full/news.2010.635.html
- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3370421/
- http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1875213610001671
- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25604645
- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24432369
- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25738576
- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2674594/
- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14597987
- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4415625/
- http://www.youngandraw.com/astragaloside-iv-is-a-powerful-antiinflammatory-super-herb/
- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4135229/
