Abstract: The polysaccharide was extracted from Astragalus to prepare the Astragalus polysaccharide-chromium complex and the effects of the polysaccharide and its chromium complex on blood levels of the diabetic mice induced by streptozotocin (STZ) were studied. The purified polysaccharides were coordinated with chromium (III) in alkaline solution. The structure of the complex was expressed by the methods of IR and UV. The diabetic mice (i.g) were fed with the complex and polysaccharide respectively and recorded the weights and blood glucose levels of the diabetic mice. The prepared polysaccharides-chromium complex can significantly reduce the blood glucose of the diabetic mice in comparison with those before administration (p<0.05), while the Astragalus polysaccharide can reduce the blood glucose only by the low dose. The complex of polysaccharides-chromium has better effects on reducing blood glucose than those of polysaccharide alone.

Key words: astragalus polysaccharide, chromium complex, reduce blood glucose