Cistanche Deserticola Is A Heavenly Herb, With Medicinal And Edible Properties, And Is A Specialty Of Xinjiang
Oct 09, 2024
Cistanche deserticola "is a heavenly herb, with medicinal and edible properties, and is a specialty of Xinjiang!
Cistanches Herba is a dried fleshy stem with scaled leaves of the plant Cistanche in the family Liliaceae. It is a famous medicinal herb known as the "Desert Ginseng" and one of the nine immortal herbs in China. It is mainly produced in northwest regions such as Xinjiang, Ningxia, Gansu, and Qinghai.
cistanche tubulosa benefits and side effects
Cistanche deserticola was first recorded in the "Shennong Bencao Jing" and has the effects of tonifying kidney yang, nourishing essence, and blood, moistening the intestines, and promoting bowel movements. It is commonly used for kidney yang deficiency, essence and blood deficiency, impotence and infertility, soreness and weakness of the waist and knees, muscle and bone weakness, and intestinal dryness and constipation. It is the most frequently used kidney yang medicine in history. Cistanche deserticola has a history of being consumed as a food ingredient in Xinjiang Autonomous Region, mainly through stewing meat, adding it to dishes, making staple foods, brewing tea, and traditional wine-making methods.
The genus Cistanche is a root-parasitic plant. Due to its high medicinal value, overexploitation in the 1970s and 1980s led to the endangered wild resources of Cistanche. In recent years, researchers have overcome the cultivation techniques of root parasitic plants and achieved large-scale artificial cultivation of Cistanche deserticola. So far, a total of 6.25 million acres of bizarre willows have been planted, 2 million acres have been inoculated with Cistanche deserticola, and an annual output of 7000 tons of medicinal materials has been achieved.
Phenylethanol glycoside is the main active component of Cistanche deserticola
(1) Neuroprotective effect
There have been numerous studies exploring the effects of Cistanche deserticola on the nervous system, which have shown that Cistanche deserticola and its main components, Echinochlorin disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD), and cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury (cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury), are effective. Echinacoside (ECH) and Acteoside (VB) have excellent neuroprotective effects, such as anti-Alzheimer's disease.
(2) Bone metabolism regulation effect
As an important kidney tonifying and yang tonifying medicine, Cistanche deserticola is widely used for strengthening tendons and bones. The extract of Cistanche deserticola can increase the bone density of ovariectomized rats and reduce the levels of important mineral elements such as calcium, zinc, and copper.
(3) Liver protective activity
Modern research has expanded the pharmacological application of Cistanche deserticola to liver protection. The total glycosides of Cistanche deserticola have a significant protective effect on CCl4-induced acute liver injury in mice. The mechanism may be related to the maintenance of liver cell function by reducing lactate release through the total glycosides of Cistanche deserticola. In addition, the total glycosides of Cistanche deserticola protect primary cultured liver cells from alcohol-induced damage by increasing Bcl-2 and simultaneously inhibiting the expression of c-fos. On the other hand, polysaccharides from Cistanche deserticola have liver protective effects against alcohol-induced chronic liver injury by reducing levels of malondialdehyde and triglycerides.
Benefits of cistanche tubulosa
(4) Antioxidant effect
Another pharmacological characteristic of Cistanche deserticola is its antioxidant effect. The extract of Cistanche deserticola increased the mitochondrial ATP production capacity and ADP stimulated state III respiration in H9c2 cardiomyocytes, which is closely related to mitochondrial uncoupling and cellular glutathione redox cycle. Meanwhile, it has been reported that oligosaccharides in desert Cistanche deserticola counteract oxidative stress by inhibiting lipid peroxidation and ROS production in rats with spinal cord injury. In addition, polysaccharides from Cistanche deserticola can alleviate H2O2-induced melanocyte toxicity by clearing intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS). In the case of pure compounds, echinacoside protects against high glucose-induced endothelial dysfunction, which is related to the Nrf2/HO-1 dependent antioxidant pathway, and verbascoside can also protect eye tissue and biological fluids from naturally occurring oxidation in rabbits.
Desert living cistanche-Antioxidant
(5) Anti-aging effect
Desert Cistanche can prolong the lifespan of rats by antagonizing immune aging. As a functional dietary supplement, Cistanche deserticola extract can prolong lifespan, and increase the number of initial T cells, natural killer cells, and spleen cells. Desert Cistanche can also restore Sca-1 positive cells and significantly reduce peripheral memory T cells.
(6) Anti-fatigue effect
According to traditional Chinese medicine theory, the function of the kidneys includes maintaining the body's strength, and Cistanche deserticola can enhance kidney yang and exert anti-fatigue effects. The water extract of Cistanche deserticola has been proven to prolong the swimming time of mice. Desert Cistanche polysaccharides also have anti-fatigue effects on D-galactose-induced aging mice, which is significantly correlated with the reduction of urea nitrogen and serum lactate. In addition, the extract of desert Cistanche deserticola rich in phenylethanoid glycosides can improve muscle function in mice by reducing muscle damage, delaying lactate accumulation, and improving energy storage. It is worth noting that Cistanche deserticola tea has anti-fatigue effects, can prolong swimming time, and increases liver glycogen reserves, but can also reduce lactate production.
(7) Regulation of reproductive function
In recent years, pharmacological studies have confirmed the traditional regulatory effect of Cistanche deserticola on reproductive function. The extract of Cistanche deserticola significantly increased testosterone and gonadotropin concentrations in male mice, while reducing estradiol levels. Phenylethanolic acid has been reported to increase sperm count and motility, while reducing the number of malformed sperm, and has a significant therapeutic effect on reproductive system defects. Phenylethanolic acid can also increase SOD activity in sperm suspension, reduce MDA content, and have a protective effect on sperm membrane lipid peroxidation. In addition, phenylethanolic acid can protect sperm DNA from oxidative damage.
(8) Anti-tumor effect
Recently, there have been reports that Cistanche deserticola has anti-cancer effects. Phenylethanolic acid has been shown to alleviate liver damage in H22 tumor-bearing mice and improve immune function by reducing AFP levels, thereby exerting adverse effects on tumor growth. In addition, some articles have reported that polysaccharides from Cistanche deserticola and pineal glycosides can inhibit the growth of K562 leukemia cells.
Application of Cistanche deserticola
A new round of market frenzy for Cistanche deserticola has been triggered.
Desert ginseng-Improve immunity
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The sustainable development of the Cistanche deserticola industry largely depends on product and market demand. With the rapid development of the economy and people's demand for health, the demand for Cistanche deserticola, like other similar nourishing food and medicinal substances such as ginseng, Sanqi, and American ginseng, continues to increase. At present, Cistanche deserticola-related products include modern drugs, traditional Chinese patent medicines, and simple preparations, traditional Chinese medicine decoction, cosmetics, herbal tea, medicinal wine, dietary supplements, and other products. According to the search data from Yaozhi Network, there are a total of 62 health food information items mainly made from Cistanche deserticola, including 60 domestic health food items and 2 imported health food items. Magic Mirror Insight data shows that since 2021, the market size of Cistanche deserticola on Taobao and Tmall platforms has been around 10.88 million yuan, with an average product price of around 84 yuan. The market growth rate is relatively flat, and the market trend is relatively stable. The official inclusion of Cistanche deserticola in the list of food and drug homologous substances may stimulate a new round of market enthusiasm for Cistanche deserticola. From endangered species to large-scale aquaculture, Cistanche deserticola will have more product markets to explore.
