Abstract:To optimize the extraction method of active components from Astragalus radix，the active components of A.radix were extracted and the antioxidant activities were compared by four single extraction methods（subcritical water extraction，ultrasonic extraction，enzymatic extraction，and water grinding extraction） and three combining extraction methods （ultrasonic，enzymatic，and water grinding，combining subcritical water extraction，respectively）.The results showed that subcritical water extraction and combining extraction methods were superior to other methods on the extraction of saponins.The total extraction yield of saponins by ultrasonic，enzymatic，water grinding，and subcritical water extractions was 3.71% ，2.92% ，1.72% ，and 1.91% ，respectively.Both the enzymatic and water grinding extractions had better effects on the extraction of total flavonoids，with the value of 1.04% and 2.20% ，respectively.The enzymatic extraction was the most effective in the extraction of polysaccharides，with the value of 6.05% .The effect of different extraction methods on the tissue structure of the residue of A.Radix after extraction was significant.The antioxidant capacity of A.Radix extract obtained by subcritical water extraction and combining extraction methods were stronger than other extraction methods.The DPPH and ABTS+radical scavenging abilities and the ferric reducing ability were 8 times-16 times，5 times-8 times，and 36 times-115 times higher than that of other extraction methods.The correlation analysis showed that the antioxidant capacity of A.Radix extract had a marked positive correlation with the yield of total saponins，the content of astragaloside II，and maillard reaction.