Study on the Estrogen Effect of Chinese Medicine Herb Cistanche
Mar 06, 2022
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Cistanche is a well-known traditional Chinese medicine herb and it has rich nutritional effects. The fleshy stems of tubulosa (Schrenk) Wight are mainly produced in Xinjiang, Gansu, Inner Mongolia, Qinghai, and other places. Cistanche cistanche is mild in nature, sweet and salty, and it is the first to appear in traditional Chinese medicine supplement prescriptions. The 2010 edition of "Pharmacopoeia" stated that Cistanche has the effects of "tonifying kidney yang, nourishing essence and blood, and moisturizing the intestines". It is used to treat symptoms such as impotence, infertility, weak waist and knees, weak muscles and bones, dry intestines, and constipation.
Click to Cistanche uses products
The chemical composition of Cistanche has been separated and identified. The main chemical components of Cistanche are phenylethanoid glycosides, iridoid glycosides, lignans, amino acids, sugars, and so on. Phenylethanoid glycosides are the main active ingredients of Cistanche with multiple functions such as nourishing yin and yang, anti-oxidation, and anti-cancer. Some scholars have proved that echinacoside and verbascoside are the main symbolic components in Cistanche. In Pharmacopoeia, echinacoside and verbascoside content are used as standard measurements for the identification of cistanche products and cistanche drugs, both of which are phenylethanoid glycosides.
Cistanche also contains volatile components, alkaloids, polysaccharides, amino acids, inorganic trace elements, and so on. Some scholars have done a lot of research on the fat-soluble components in Cistanche deserticola using SFE technology and found that they can be roughly divided into ester compounds, linear alkanes containing 16 to 28 carbons, and oxygen and nitrogen compounds. For compounds with relatively low molecular weights, three types of ingredients such as palmitic acid and linoleic acid were also found. The carbohydrate components separated by column chromatography were determined by HPLC, and it was determined that the mannose contained in the Cistanche extract accounted for the main part, as well as a small amount of rhamnose, sucrose, and some oligosaccharides.
Study on the Estrogen Effect of Cistanche
In the experimental study of the estrogen effect of Chinese medicine herbs, It had pointed out that Cistanche can significantly increase the weight of the uterus, ovaries, and anterior pituitary of rats in the experimental group than in the control group. Because it can increase the growth of certain cells in the pituitary gland and increase the secretion of progesterone in the ovary, it can also increase the expression of ER and PR in the gonadal axis, and inhibit the expression of IL-2R in the ovary and uterine stroma. The morphology and function of the gonadal axis of rats with functional decline have a greater impact. Cistanche cistanche exhibits strong estrogenic effects, which can provide another valuable Chinese medicine for finding estrogen substitutes with obvious effects and small side effects in plants.
In an experiment to study the effects of ten Chinese medicines including Cistanche on the proliferation of tumor cells, it was found that the serum of Chinese medicines such as Cistanche can accelerate the proliferation of breast cancer MCF-7 cells, showing a certain estrogen effect.
Some scholars have screened the effective parts and doses of Cistanche for estrogen. Cistanche materials were extracted with water and 95% ethanol, and the extracts were subjected to comprehensive experiments on estrogenic activity in vitro and in vivo using the mouse uterine weight gain method and MTT method. The mouse uterine weight gain experiment showed that: Compared with the blank group, the 95% alcohol extract dose of 40g/(kg·d) can increase the mouse uterine coefficient (P<0.05), while the 95% alcohol extract does Compare with 30g/(kg·d), the effect is more significant (P<0.01); compared with the diethylstilbestrol group [0.35mg/(kg·d)], 40g/(kg·d) 95% alcohol The extract + 0.35mg/(kg·d) diethylstilbestrol group had a significant inhibitory effect on the weight gain of the uterus of mice (P<0.01). The MTT experiment shows that the 95% alcohol extract with a dose of 30g/(kg·d) can exert estrogen-like effects, and the 95% alcohol extract with a dose of 40g/(kg·d) exerts an anti-estrogen effect. The results of in vivo and in vitro experiments are basically the same, comprehensively showing that the 95% alcohol extract of Cistanche cistanche exerts more significant estrogen effects. The dose is 30g/(kg·d) to exert estrogen-like effects, and the dosage is 40g/(kg·d) to exert anti-estrogen effects. During the uterine weight gain experiment, it was found that Cistanche can increase the water content and elasticity of the uterus, indicating that Cistanche extract can reduce the disease of uterine fibroids, endometrial diseases, and other diseases caused by changes in hormone levels in the body risk.
The traditional Chinese medicine Cistanche had always been one of the first-choice herbs for invigorating the kidney yang and replenishing the essence. With the urgent need to find phytoestrogens that can replace synthetic estrogen and minimize side effects, its estrogenic effects have been increasingly valued and explored. . Due to the complex composition of traditional Chinese medicine and the unclear material basis of its medicinal effects, it is difficult to achieve the desired effect with the traditional decoction. Therefore, the extraction and separation of the effective parts and active ingredients of Cistanche that act as estrogen will be future experiments focus of research.
