Astragalus hopes to fight aids
American researchers have conducted a long term study on the Chinese herb astragalus root (黃芪) and found that it contains a chemical substance called TAT2 that can effectively suppress the cell division of the aids virus.
The immune system undergoes a great deal of cell division as part of its function. When a virus enters the body, the killer CD8 T-cells reacts by dividing itself to create a replica to fight off the enemy. However with HIV, the T-cells cannot replicate itself forever to totally clean the HIV from the body immune system.
The traditional method of treating HIV used HAART (highly active antiretroviral therapy), which includes a combination of three to four drugs taken to lower the level of HIV in the body and allow the immune system to recover from the damage. But HAART is not easily tolerated by some patients and the cost of the drugs are expensive.
The UCLA AIDS Institute recently published the results of a study that identified the chemical called TAT2 in plants such as astragalus used in traditional Chinese medicine therapy which has the effect of enhancing the replication ability for the T-cells. The tests also found that TAT2 produces substances called chemokines and cytokines that inhibits HIV replication.
The astragalus herb has the potential to act as a complimentary or even replacement therapy for HAART to become the primary method of curing HIV. In addition, the researchers pointed out that because TAT2 enhances cell replication, it has the added benefit of strengthening the immune system and defending against other viral infections associated with chronic diseases and aging.
