Abstract
The role of herbal medicines in the treatment of viruses and the identification of potential antiviral drugs has been the focus of researchers for decades. The control and treatment of viral diseases are very important due to the evolution of viruses and the emergence of new viruses compared to other pathogens such as fungi and bacteria. Astragalus membranaceus (AM) is a significant medicinal plant. The potential use of this plant and its chemical components in the treatment of inflammatory illnesses and viral diseases has been vigorously researched recently. Astragalus polysaccharides (APS) make up the majority of AM's ingredients. The main mechanisms of the antiviral effect of APS have been investigated in some studies. The results of these studies show that APS can exert its antiviral effect by enhancing type I IFN signaling, inhibiting the expression of Bax and Caspase-3 proteins in the apoptosis pathway, and other antiviral mechanisms such as anti-inflammatory activities. The most well-known inflammatory products of APS's antiviral effects are B-cell proliferation, antibody products, nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB), and IL(s).
Although it has a known effectiveness, there are some limitations to this substance's use as medicine. The use of nanotechnology is removing these limitations and its ability to be used as an anti-virus agent. The purpose of this review is to emphasize the role of AM, especially APS, in controlling inflammatory pathways in the treatment of viral infections. With the emergence of these herbal medications, a new path has been opened in the control and treatment of viral infections.
Keywords:
Astragalus, herbal medicine, viral infections, inflammation pathways, antiviral activity, nano-carrier.
[9]
Ntie-Kang, F.; Karaman Mayack, B.; Valente, S.; Battistelli, C. Natural product epigenetic modulators and inhibitors; Frontiers Media: SA, 2021, p. 651395.
[10]
Schäfer, A.; Baric, RS. Epigenetic landscape during coronavirus infection. Pathogens, 2017, 6(1), 8.
[17]
Liang, Y; Zhang, Q; Zhang, L; Wang, R; Xu, X; Hu, X Astragalus membranaceus treatment protects Raw264.7 cells from influenza virus by regulating G1 phase and the TLR3-mediated signaling pathway. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med., 2019, 2019, 2971604.
[21]
Shi, L; Yin, F; Xin, X; Mao, S; Hu, P; Zhao, C Astragalus polysaccharide protects astrocytes from being infected by HSV-1 through TLR3/NF-κB signaling pathway. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med., 2014, 2014, 285356.
[23]
Ge, C.; He, Y. In silico prediction of molecular targets of astragaloside iv for alleviation of COVID-19 hyperinflammation by systems network pharmacology and bioinformatic gene expression analysis. Front. Pharmacol., 2020, 11, 556984.
[32]
Barrett, B. Viral upper respiratory infection.In: Integrative Medicine, 4th ed.; Rakel, D., Ed.; elsevier , 2018, pp. 170-179. e7
[38]
Zheng, Q; Zhuang, Z; Wang, Z-H; Deng, L-H; Jin, W-J Huang, ZJ linical and preclinical systematic review of Astragalus
membranaceus for viral myocarditis. Oxid. Med. Cell. Longev. 2020 2020.
[48]
Karak, P. Biological activities of flavonoids: An overview. Int. J. Pharm. Sci. Res., 2019, 10(4), 1567-1574.
[55]
Shi, L; Zhang, C; Liu, L; Xi, Z; Chen, M Effects of astragalus polysaccharides on cd8+ tissue-resident memory t cells in mice with herpes simplex. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med., 2022, 2022, 7729136.
[61]
Hong, X.; Lu, H.; Zhang, Q.; Xia, S.; Tang, J.; Ding, Z. Effect of Astragalus polysaccharide on the anti-infection of white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) in procambarus clarkia. Shanghai Haiyang Daxue Xuebao, 2014, 23(3), 423-428.