Astragalus Cert Organic Alcohol Free Extract (Astragalus membranaceus) 1 fl oz: K
Gaia's alcohol-free extracts have Herb Strength Ratios of 1:1 and 1:2. The herbs are extracted with certified organic USP grain alcohol which is then removed via low heat / low vacuum. Pure vegetable glycerin is then added making them great tasting. About 30-40 dropperfuls per bottle. 30-40 drops per dropperful. Gaia Herb Farm receives Annual Organic Certification. Oregon Tilth has certified Gaia Farms as an Organic Grower of more than 50 medicinal plants. Gaia Herbs Analytical Laboratory analyzes every batch of every product to ensure quality, product consistency, and activity with state of the art instruments. Gaia has become a leader in herbal product analysis, headed up by Dr. Xiping Wang, Chief Scientist and Natural products Chemist. This legendary medicinal plant is a perennial with long, fibrous roots, native to North China and Inner Mongolia. It is sold in both wild and cultivated forms. Chinese pharmacies sell bundles of thin root-slices that resemble tongue depressors and have a sweet taste. These are simmered in medicinal soups, the slices being removed before serving because they are too tough to chew. Obviously, the root powder can be swallowed along with the rest of the decoction. Practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine consider astragalus a true tonic that can strengthen debilitated patients and increase resistance to disease in general. In contemporary Chinese medicine, it is also a chief component of zheng fu therapy, a combination herbal treatment designed to restore immune function in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Astragalus is a complex combination of polysaccharides, triterpene glycosides, flavonoids, amino acids, and trace minerals Astragalus polysaccharides have been shown to stimulate pituitary-adrenal cortical activity and restore depleted red blood cell formation in bone marrow. Again, confirming traditional Chinese medicine, Astragalus has been shown to stimulate the body's natural production of interferon. Astragalus is now prescribed, in both the East and the West, for immuno-compromised people, or people who easily 'catch' illnesses. The decoction is safe to use repeatedly on a daily basis. Research in China has demonstrated increased survival in patients receiving both herbal and Western therapies, as well as protection from the immunosuppressive effects of the latter. Studies in the West confirm that astragalus enhances immune function by increasing activity of several kinds of white blood cells and boosting production of antibodies and interferon, the body's own antiviral agent. Numerous scientific studies have confirmed the medicinal value of astragalus. Immunopharmacology (1990;20) and Mutation Research (1992) found enhancement response by Astragalus extract, Journal of Ethnopharmacology (1990) reported a hepatoprotective effect and indicated that ethanol extract of Astragalus alleviates liver injury, Archivos del Instituto de Cardiologia de Mexico (1993) a