Objective: To evaluate the effect of honey-processing on therapeutical basis of Astragalus Radix

and systemically study the honey-processing of Astragalus Radix from its chemical composition content and estrogen receptor action and with the crude product and fried product of Astragalus Radix as the control products. Method: The content of water-soluble extracts was determined by using cold-maceration method;content of polysaccharides was determined by phenol-sulfuric acid colorimetry method;the total protein content was determined by Dimethyl quinoline method;high performance liquid chromatography-tandem-Q-time of flight mass spectrometry (HPLC-Q-TOF-MS) was used to compare the chemical profile and content of main components. Luciferase assay was used to measure the effect on estrogen receptor. Result: An increasing level of the water-soluble extracts and a reducing level of polysaccharides were observed in honey-processed Astragalus Radix. Honey-processing kept the stability of astragaloside Ⅱ and reduced the destruction on astragaloside Ⅱ content caused by heating;significantly increased the content of isoflavone glycosides (calycosin-7-O-β-D-glucoside and ononin). The effect of honey-processing on estrogen receptor was slightly higher than that of crude product and much higher than that of fried-processing. Conclusion: Honey-processing can protect the component stability and increase the content of extracts

thus enhancing the medicinal activity of Astragalus Radix.