Physicochemical Properties and Anti-inflammatory Effects of Astragalus membranaceus (Fisch.) Bunge Fermented by Aspergillus awamori

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/ by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Background: Fermentation of medicinal plants increases their absorption rate and bioavailability in the body. Astragalus membranaceus has been used as a raw material, but research in its use as a food ingredient is lacking. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify the physicochemical characteristics and anti-inflammatory effect of fermented Astragalus membranaceus. Methods and Results: Astragalus roots were fermented using Aspergillus awamori for 4 days and their extracts prepared using hot water. The pH, total acidity (%), and reducing sugar (%) of the extracts were then investigated. The pH and total acidity decreased during fermentation. After fermentation, the pH and total acidity decreased, whereas the reducing sugar level increased. The active ingredients in fermented Astragalus were calycosin-7-O-ßd-glucoside, ononin, calycosin and formononetin. The calycosin contents was highest in the hot-water extracted samples fermented for 4 days. The other components were similar to those in control. Nitric oxide level was lower in the hot-water extracted samples fermented for 4 days than in lipopolysaccharide control group. The sample fermented for 4 days was confirmed to inhibit the production of tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-1β. Conclusions: Our results showed the physicochemical properties and anti-inflammatory effects of A. membranaceus after fermentation using Aspergillus awamori. These results indicated that fermented Astragalus membranaceus can be used as a functional food.