Objective: To observe the effect of high doses of astragalus membranaceus on serum tumor necrosis factor-αα(TNF-)

Interleukin-6(IL-6) and cellular immune function in patients with chronic glomerulonephritis (CGN). Methodsα: Radioimmunoassay (RIA) was used to examine the levels of TNF- and IL-6 in serum before and after treatment with astragalus membranaceus in 30 patients (treated group)

compared with that of 30 patients before and after treatment with routine therapy (control group) and 30 healthy subjects (healthy group) . Changes of CD3+ cells

CD4+ cells

CD8+ cells and CD4+/CD8+ were also observed. Resultsα: Before treatment

serum TNF- and IL-6 were significantly higher (P<0.01) in the treated and the control group compared with those in the healthy αgroup. There was significant positive correlation between serum TNF-and serum IL-6. After treatment

the αimprovement of TNF-

IL-6

CD3+ cells

CD4+ cells

CD4+/CD8+ in the treated group were obvious (P<0.01)

and the improvement in the treated group was more significant than that of control group (P<0.05

P<0.01). Conclusion: αHigh doses of astragalus membranaceus can decrease the levels of serum TNF- and IL-6 and improve cellular immune function in CGN patients. The research suggests its possible curative mechanism.