Astragalus membranaceus

Astragalus L., is one of the largest genus of flowering plants in the Leguminosae family. The aim of this study was to review anti-carcinoma activities of this valuable herb. This review article was carried out by searching studies in PubMed, Medline, Web of Science, and Iran Medex databases .The initial search strategy identified about 128 references. In this study, 113 studies was accepted for further screening and met all our inclusion criteria (in English, full text, therapeutic effects of Astragalus membranaceus and dated mainly from all years of study).The search terms were “Astragalus membranaceus ”, “anti-carcinoma activities”, pharmacological effects. The results was indicated that different parts and forms of this herb including its leaves, roots and stems has anti-cancer and anti-tumor activities i.e. lung, colorectal, breast, ovarian, liver, colorectal, stomach, colon, gastric, cervical, nasopharyngeal cancers. Based on the results of this study, it was indicated that Astragalus membranaceus has high anti-carcinoma activities. Keyword: Astragalus membranaceus , anti-carcinoma activities, pharmacological effects,anti-cancer,anti-tumor _____________________________________________________________________________________________