Astragalus

Astragalus mongholicus, called Mongolian milkvetch in English and huángqí or běiqí in Chinese, is a perennial flowering plant of the pea family. It grows widely across temperate Asia: Kazakhstan, Siberia and the Russian Far East, Mongolia, and western and northern China. It is one of the 50 fundamental herbs of traditional Mongolian medicine and is also used in traditional Chinese medicine. The root, sold as Radix Astragali, holds polysaccharides, triterpenoids such as the astragalosides, isoflavones and their glycosides, and the saponin cycloastragenol. It is a component of a food supplement used for seasonal allergic rhinitis, though the evidence for its effect is limited. Several other Astragalus species poison livestock through indolizine alkaloids, nitro compounds and accumulated selenium, but none of these were detected in the Astragalus mongholicus used in dietary supplements and traditional Chinese preparations. Japan's pharmacopoeia lists it under the name A. propinquus.