Abstract:Astragalus membranaceus (Fisch.) Bge.is one of the original plant species of Astragalus,which is luxuriant in the medicine formation year.In order to explore the potential utilization of traditional Chinese medicine resources and the optimal harvest time,the plant leaves were harvested on four occasions at an interval of 15 days between two consecutive harvests.Leaves were then made into leaf tea according to the green tea processing technology.The bioactive components in leaf tea harvested at four different time were measured.The results showed that the bioactive components of leaf tea varied along the harvest time,with the total flavonoid content and total phenolic content being initially increased followed by a decrease along the harvest time.The total flavonoid content of leaf tea harvested at different time was ranked in the order of the following:June 30(17.06%)>June 15(16.62%)>May 30(16.53%)>July 15 (15.73%);while their corresponding total phenolic content was 4.49%,5.63%,5.50% and 5.31%.The polysaccharides content,water extract and alcohol extract increased significantly with the delay of harvest time.The polysaccharides content,water extract and alcohol extract were ranked in the order of the following: on May 30 (4.98%,47.16%,47.01%)<on June 15 (6.00%,48.79%,47.40%)<on June 30 (6.90%,49.08%,47.70%)<on July 15 (7.80%,50.29%,48.36%).With the delay of harvest time,the total antioxidant bioactive components in leaf tea of A.membranaceus initially increased followed by a decrease,while the content of nutritional components continued to increase.The antioxidant bioactive components were ranked in the order of June 30 (29.46%)>July 15 (28.83%)>June 15 (28.25%)>May 30(26.00%),and the nutritional components were in the order of July 15 (98.65%)>June 30 (96.78%)>June 15 (96.19%)>May 30 (94.17%).The content of polysaccharides and total phenolic in the extracts of leaf tea were positively correlated with the content of total flavonoid.Our results show that A.membranaceus leaf tea is a good functional product of traditional Chinese medicine resources,which has great potential for further development and utilization.The best harvest time would be from June 30 to July 15.