Is Astragalus Toxic?

The first thing that needs to be made clear is that Astragalus is a traditional Chinese medicine that can cure the five poisons. This medicine is not only common in traditional Chinese medicine formulas, but is also common in the food cooking process. Astragalus has many benefits to the human body, so some people in life will directly use Astragalus to make tea for drinking, or they can put Astragalus in the soup and stew it together.

However, any drug, taken in large amounts, such as 200 grams or more per day, may be toxic. Just like you cannot eat so much that you die, however, if a person eats three kilograms of rice every day, he will die of overeating.

Generally speaking, based on the experience of traditional Chinese medicine, long-term use of Astragalus at dosages specified in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia (the latest edition of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, 2010, stipulates that the daily dosage is 9-30 grams) is very safe and there is no need to worry about poisoning.

Side Effects of Astragalus

For patients with kidney disease caused by yin deficiency, dampness, heat, and severe heat toxicity, the use of Astragalus will generally cause toxic side effects and should be prohibited. Because Astragalus is sweet and slightly warm in nature, taking it will cause heat in patients with Yin deficiency, which can easily damage Yin and cause bleeding; while taking it will easily cause stagnation of evil in patients with damp heat and excessive heat toxicity, making their condition worse. If you must take Astragalus, you must use it in combination.

When patients with Yin deficiency use Astragalus, it must be used in combination with Yin-nourishing medicines, such as Raw Rehmannia, Cooked Rehmannia, Scrophularia, Ophiopogon, Asparagus, Polygonatum, etc. Patients with damp-heat must be treated with drugs that clear damp-heat, such as Coptis chinensis, Artemisia capillaris, Scutellaria baicalensis, etc. Patients with severe heat and toxicity must be treated with heat-clearing and detoxifying drugs, such as Coptis chinensis, Gardenia jasminoides, Rhubarb, and Patrinia salsa.