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Astragalus injection alleviates diabetic cognitive impairment (DCI) through dual effects of anti-neuroinflammation and antioxidative stress based on network pharmacology analysis and experimental validation
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Tong Xia1, Fayin Huang2, Shiqi Li2, Yijing Yan2, Lin Guo1, Wenlan Zhang1, Yulin Wang2, Peizhe Lin3, Yijing Wang4, Yanrong Suo5, Maojuan Guo1, Xijuan Jiang1, Huhu Li1, *, Yongna Dai2, *, Wenyun Zeng6, *
Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine | 2026, 6(2) : 230 - 246
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Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine | 2026, 6(2): 230-246
• Original Article •
Astragalus injection alleviates diabetic cognitive impairment (DCI) through dual effects of anti-neuroinflammation and antioxidative stress based on network pharmacology analysis and experimental validation
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Tong Xia1, Fayin Huang2, Shiqi Li2, Yijing Yan2, Lin Guo1, Wenlan Zhang1, Yulin Wang2, Peizhe Lin3, Yijing Wang4, Yanrong Suo5, Maojuan Guo1, Xijuan Jiang1, Huhu Li1, *, Yongna Dai2, *, Wenyun Zeng6, *
Affiliations
  • 1School of Integrative Medicine, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, China
  • 2School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, China
  • 3Guang'anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
  • 4School of Acupuncture & Moxibustion and Tuina, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, China
  • 5Traditional Chinese Medicine Department, Ganzhou People's Hospital, Ganzhou, China
  • 6Oncology Department, Ganzhou People's Hospital, Ganzhou, China
About Author:

Tong Xia, Fayin Huang, and Shiqi Li contributed equally to this work.

Published: 2026-06-25 doi: 10.1097/HM9.0000000000000185
Outline
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Objective:

To explore the effects of astragalus injection (AI) in patients with diabetic cognitive impairment (DCI).

Methods:

First, to screen for effective chemical components of astragalus, we searched Traditional Chinese Medicines Systems Pharmacology (TCMSP) and Analysis Platform databases. We then predicted the corresponding potential target genes using Swiss Target Prediction, searched and filtered three disease databases to identify DCI targets, and constructed a drug-component-target-disease interaction network and protein-protein interaction (PPI) network. The core targets and pathways of AI against DCI were predicted using Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) functional enrichment analyses. In vivo experiments demonstrated the efficacy of AI in alleviating diabetes-associated cognitive impairment, whereas in vitro studies verified its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant stress mechanisms. Finally, western blot analysis identified key regulatory proteins involved in inflammation and oxidative stress, proposing a potential mechanism by which AI mitigates DCI through modulation of these proteins.

Results:

We screened 25 active components of astragalus and 251 drug targets and obtained 220 common targets after intersecting 8,036 DCI targets. GO enrichment analysis showed that astragalus mainly treats DCI by regulating the response to external stimuli, lipopolysaccharide, hypoxia, and oxygen levels. KEGG pathway enrichment analysis revealed that it was mainly involved in cancer, calcium signaling, p53 signaling, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) signaling pathway, and Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling pathways. Experimental results demonstrated that AI alleviates diabetes-associated cognitive impairment through dual mechanisms: activating the Kelch-like ECH-associated protein (Keap1)/nuclear factor-erythroid-derived related factor 2 (Nrf2) signaling pathway to exert antioxidant effects, and inhibiting the TLR-4/nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) signaling pathway to mitigate neuroinflammation, thereby improving cognitive dysfunction and hyperglycemia.

Conclusions:

Network pharmacology identified potential AI interventions for DCI, and experiments were conducted to confirm some of the major targets in the predictive signaling pathway. Our study offers new insights into the mechanisms of AI treatment for DCI.

Astragalus injection  /  Astragalus membranaceus Cognitive impairment of diabetes  /  anti-neuroinflammation  /  antioxidative stress  /  Network pharmacology
Tong Xia, Fayin Huang, Shiqi Li, Yijing Yan, Lin Guo, Wenlan Zhang, Yulin Wang, Peizhe Lin, Yijing Wang, Yanrong Suo, Maojuan Guo, Xijuan Jiang, Huhu Li, Yongna Dai, Wenyun Zeng. Astragalus injection alleviates diabetic cognitive impairment (DCI) through dual effects of anti-neuroinflammation and antioxidative stress based on network pharmacology analysis and experimental validation[J]. Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine, 2026 , 6 (2) : 230 -246 . DOI: 10.1097/HM9.0000000000000185
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Funding
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  • National Natural Science Foundation of China(81904146; 82004330)
  • Tianjin Municipal Education Commission Research Project(2023ZD024)
  • Research project on the integrative medicine by the Tianjin Municipal Health Commission(2023075)
  • Tianjin Research Innovation Project for Postgraduate Students(2022SKY238)
  • Traditional Chinese medicine project of Jiangxi Provincial Health Commission(2018A397)
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Year 2026 volume 6 Issue 2
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Article Info
doi: 10.1097/HM9.0000000000000185
  • Receive Date：2025-01-02
  • Online Date：2026-11-04
  • Published：2026-06-25
Article Data
Affiliations
History
  • Received：2025-01-02
  • Accepted：2026-01-23
Funding
National Natural Science Foundation of China(81904146; 82004330)
Tianjin Municipal Education Commission Research Project(2023ZD024)
Research project on the integrative medicine by the Tianjin Municipal Health Commission(2023075)
Tianjin Research Innovation Project for Postgraduate Students(2022SKY238)
Traditional Chinese medicine project of Jiangxi Provincial Health Commission(2018A397)
Affiliations
    1School of Integrative Medicine, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, China
    2School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, China
    3Guang'anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
    4School of Acupuncture & Moxibustion and Tuina, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, China
    5Traditional Chinese Medicine Department, Ganzhou People's Hospital, Ganzhou, China
    6Oncology Department, Ganzhou People's Hospital, Ganzhou, China

Corresponding:

* Huhu Li, E-mail: ;
Yongna Dai, E-mail: ;
Wenyun Zeng, E-mail: .
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表12种不同金属材料的力学参数
科
Family		 属数
Number of
genus		 种数
Number of
species		 占总种数比例
Percentage of
total species (%)		 属
Genus		 种数
Number of
species		 占总种数比例
Percentage of total
species (%)
鹅膏菌科Amanitaceae 2 11 5.26 鹅膏菌属 Amanita 10 4.78
小菇科 Mycenaceae 2 12 5.74 丝盖伞属 Inocybe 5 2.39
多孔菌科 Polyporaceae 8 14 6.70 蜡蘑属 Laccaria 5 2.39
红菇科 Russulaceae 3 23 11.00 小皮伞属 Marasmius 6 2.87
小菇属 Mycena 11 5.26
光柄菇属 Pluteus 5 2.39
红菇属 Russula 17 8.13
栓菌属 Trametes 5 2.39
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