Benefits
Body weight and body fat
In a 12 week crossover trial at 250 mg a day, 38 adults with overweight enrolled and 21 finished; body weight, BMI and body fat fell more than with placebo. In a 6 week trial with 9 adults analysed, body measures did not differ from placebo. Both were run with capsules supplied by the maker, published in a journal not indexed in PubMed, and not independently repeated.
Adiponectin, a fat tissue hormone linked to insulin sensitivity
Adiponectin rose 29.5% versus placebo after 12 weeks in the larger trial and 22% after 6 weeks in the smaller one. Lab studies of fat cells and a mouse study of two Astragalus compounds suggest why, but adiponectin is a blood marker, and neither small trial shows it changing health outcomes. Neither trial is indexed in PubMed.
Fasting blood glucose
In 9 analysed adults with borderline-high blood sugar and cholesterol, 250 mg a day for 6 weeks lowered fasting glucose by 10.1% and the glucose curve after a sugar drink by 12.7% versus placebo, while HbA1c did not change. Triglycerides fell 31%. This is one small crossover trial with maker-supplied capsules, not indexed in PubMed and not independently repeated.
Mechanism of action
Adiponectin and AMPK signaling (cell and animal data)
In fat cells grown in the lab, the trial researchers reported that the extract raised adiponectin gene activity, the energy sensor AMPK, the glucose transporter GLUT4 and glucose uptake, and it lowered blood glucose and insulin in rats. In the 6 week human trial, blood AMPK was 12.7% higher than on placebo. A separate mouse study found that two Astragalus compounds raise adiponectin. Whether these pathways explain any effect in people is not established.
Clinical trials
Randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind crossover trial (NCT03654391) with two 12 week phases separated by a 4 week washout, 250 mg a day as five 50 mg capsules, no diet changes. Run at Chung Shan Medical University with InnoSlim samples supplied by NuLiv Science; the paper gives no funding statement and was published in a journal not indexed in PubMed. The same paper also reports cell and rat experiments (Huang et al. 2021, J Biochem Biotech).
38 adults aged 20 to 60 with BMI of 27 or more or body fat of 30% or more were enrolled from 44 recruited; 21 completed and 17 withdrew for personal and other health reasons.
After 12 weeks, body weight, BMI and body fat were significantly lower than with placebo (p<0.05), as were triglycerides and LDL cholesterol; total and HDL cholesterol did not change. Adiponectin was 29.51% higher than with placebo. Calorie intake did not change. Losing 17 of 38 participants weakens the result, and no independent group has repeated it.
Randomized, double-blind crossover trial with two 6 week phases separated by a 4 week washout, 250 mg a day as five 50 mg capsules. Capsules and placebo were provided by NuLiv Science and the trial was funded by Chung Shan Medical University; published in a journal not indexed in PubMed (Huang et al. 2022, J Biochem Biotech).
12 adults with fasting glucose of 100 to 125 mg/dL, HbA1c of 5.7 to 6.4% and total cholesterol of 200 to 249 mg/dL were enrolled; 9, aged 44 to 71, were analysed after 3 were excluded for poor compliance.
Versus placebo, fasting glucose fell 10.1% and the glucose curve after a glucose drink fell 12.69%; triglycerides fell 31.06% and small dense LDL 19.96%; HDL rose 11.78%, adiponectin 22.07% and blood AMPK 12.72% (all p<0.05). HbA1c did not change and body weight, body fat, waist and BMI did not differ from placebo. No adverse events were reported.