Current Status Of Pharmacological Effects Of Glycosides Of Cistanches Herba

Apr 22, 2024

Abstract: Glycosides of cistanche (GCs) are active ingredients, which antioxidant and anti-aging, exert neuroprotection, ischemia-reperfusion, immunity improvement, hepatoprotective,dyszoospermiatreatment. In this article, the pharmacological effects of GCs are reviewed to provide a reference for related research and clinical application. 

Keywords: glycosides of cistanche; pharmacological effects; research status


Cistanche total glycosides (GCs) are extracted from Cistanche - a compound family composed of three parts: caffeic acid, glycosyl, and phenyl ethanol aglycone. Studies have shown that GCs have various effects such as improving learning and cognitive functions, protecting myocardial ischemia, antioxidant, scavenging free radicals in vitro, increasing human immunity, and delaying aging. This article reviews the research on the pharmacological effects of CCs in recent years and serves as a reference for related research and clinical applications. Source of Cistanche total glycosides.

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Cistanche is the dry fleshy stem with scaly leaves of the Orobanchiaceae plant Cistanche . It is a perennial parasitic seed plant, commonly known as Cistanche . It is warm, sweet, and salty, returns to the kidney and large intestine meridians, and has the effects of nourishing kidney yang, replenishing essence and blood, moistening the intestines, and laxative[2]. Modern pharmacological research shows that Cistanche has many functions such as improving sexual function, regulating neuroendocrine, improving the body's immune function, antioxidants, promoting substance metabolism, anti-Alzheimer's disease, anti-Parkinson's disease, etc.! The chemical composition of Cistanche was analyzed and studied, and various types of substances were isolated, such as polysaccharides, phenylethanoid glycosides, iridoids, lignans, alkaloids, volatile components, etc. Phenylethanol glycoside is the main active ingredient of Cistanche and is also the main inspection indicator for quality control of Cistanche .


2 Pharmacological effects of total glycosides of Cistanche 

2.1 Antioxidant and anti-aging

Recent studies believe that aging is closely related to biological membrane lipid peroxidation caused by free radicals. Wang Xiaowen et al. [pointed out that CCs can scavenge free radicals in vitro and protect against DNA damage caused by OH, and speculated that the multiple phenolic hydroxyl groups contained in phenylethanoid glycoside molecules can bind to free radicals in the body and inhibit ultraviolet oxidation in serum and brain. The reduction of oxide dismutase activity inhibits the increase in liver and serum malondialdehyde content, reduces the accumulation of free radicals in the body, and protects the body from peroxidative damage. Further research results show that phenylethanol glycosides can delay the aging of aging mice by regulating the balance of oxidation/antioxidation functions in the body of aging mice. It is speculated that this is related to its protective effect on SOD and lipid antioxidants. Function related!

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2.2 Neuroprotection

The pathogenesis of central neurodegenerative diseases is complex, and the theory of free radical cell apoptosis is the currently recognized theory of aging!". GCs can promote the proliferation of neural stem cells, and Lian Juanqi! believes that GCs improve the plasticity and maintenance of synaptic morphology. GCs can improve the synaptic morphological plasticity of hippocampal neurons in rapidly aging mice, thereby improving the learning and cognitive impairment of mice. GCs can increase the number of normal pyramidal cells in the CA1 area of mice. The number of synaptic dendritic spines can improve the morphological plasticity of synapses. GCs can also reduce malondialdehyde content in brain tissue, increase superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase activities, protect cells from damage, and inhibit B lymphocytes. The expression of Cytoblastoma-2 (Bcl-2)-related protein X (Bax) promotes the expression of Bcl-2, thereby improving the survival rate of pyramidal cells in the hippocampus.

GCs have the effect of improving learning ability in various AD mouse models. It can significantly improve the neurobehavior of Parkinson's model mice, inhibit acetylcholinesterase activity and Ca content in rat hippocampal tissue, maintain normal levels of acetylcholine in the brain, and improve rat hippocampal tissue. It can improve the learning and memory ability of rats, inhibit the decrease in the number of dopamine neurons in the substantia nigra, enhance the activity of free radical scavenging enzymes, prevent lipid peroxidation, inhibit the deposition of B-amyloid peptide in the brain, and inhibit the brain's Apoptosis[9]

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2.3 Anti-altitude pulmonary edema and cerebral edema

Chronic hypoxia causes hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction, pulmonary vascular endothelial dysfunction, and pulmonary vascular remodeling, which in turn leads to plateau pulmonary hypertension. Tao Yicun (] administered Cistanche phenylethanoid glycoside to rats for 10 days, established a rat plateau pulmonary edema model on the 8th day and observed the pathological changes in the lung tissue of rats in each group. The results showed that Cistanche phenylethanol glycoside can improve plateau pulmonary edema. The pathological changes of pulmonary edema in mice reduced the water content of lung tissue, reduced the content of inflammatory factors and malondialdehyde in lung homogenates, and increased the activities of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase, suggesting that Cistanche phenylethanol glycoside may be through The anti-oxidative stress and anti-inflammatory effects improve pulmonary edema in rats. In addition, Cistanche phenylethanol glycoside can also significantly improve the symptoms of hypertension in rats with high-altitude pulmonary hypertension, suggesting that it has a certain effect in treating high-altitude pulmonary hypertension.

Cistanche phenylethanol glycoside also has preventive and therapeutic effects on high-altitude cerebral edema in rats. Luo Xin et al. administered intragastric administration to rats for ten days. On the eighth day, they simulated a high-altitude environment for 72 hours to create a plateau cerebral edema model and measured the water content of brain tissue, the content of inflammatory factors, malondialdehyde content, and superoxide in brain tissue homogenates. The dismutase content and glutathione peroxidase activity suggest that Cistanche can be used as a potential drug to prevent high-altitude cerebral edema.

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2.4 Ischemia-reperfusion

Studies have shown that ischemia-reperfusion is a common pathophysiological phenomenon of postoperative renal function damage (2]. Zhu Jun et al. (3) established a rat ischemic shock resuscitation model, and after intraperitoneal injection of phenylethanol glycosides extracted from Cistanche , most of the expression of X-chromosome-linked apoptosis inhibitory protein in mouse kidney tissue is significantly increased, inhibiting the process of renal cell apoptosis. Cistanche ethanol extract can also reduce hormone-induced adrenal cortex atrophy and renal tubular epithelial cell swelling, and protect normal renal function. activity, increase the activity of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase in the myocardium, reduce myocardial ultrafine particle structural damage, and reduce lipid peroxide (LPO) content; significantly improve the electrocardiogram of myocardial ischemia rats, reduce myocardial Infarct area and increase creatine phosphate kinase activity in myocardial tissue (4]. At the same time, in the cerebral ischemia-reperfusion model, CCs can reduce the expression of excitatory amino acids in brain tissue and protect the brain tissue of SD rats. Function[5)


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