Protective effect of flavonoids from Astragalus complanatus on radiation induced damages in mice.

This study aimed to evaluate the radioprotective effect of flavonoids extracted from the seeds of Astragalus complanatus R.Br. (FAC) and their protective mechanism against radiation damage. FAC increased the survival rate of mice and made the damaged organ injured by (60)Co γ-irradiation recovered to normal appearance with the mechanism of enhancing immune function and blood-producing function in vivo. The molecule mechanism of FAC against radiation is involved in the reduction of DNA injury and mutation in vitro. Eleven monomers of the FAC were analyzed by HPLC. These results seem to support the use of FAC in relieving radiation damage.