What is the pharmacology of Cistanche deserticola

In life, many of us don’t know much about Cistanche deserticola. Many people have only heard of it and only know that Cistanche deserticola is a very precious Chinese medicinal material. It has a good nourishing effect on people’s bodies. Because it is relatively rare, the price is relatively expensive. Cistanche deserticola is produced in Inner Mongolia and Gansu. It is said to have the reputation of "Desert Ginseng", so the value of Cistanche deserticola is very high. If consumed by the human body, it can help nourish the body. So, what is the pharmacology of Cistanche deserticola? Let’s take a look together.

Anti-aging effects

"Cistanche deserticola has a certain degree of anti-aging effect. Cistanche deserticola can significantly enhance the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) in mouse erythrocytes and significantly reduce the content of lipofuscin in mouse myocardium. It can also prolong the average lifespan, median lethal day and maximum lifespan of fruit flies. Gavage of 8g/kg of Cistanche deserticola decoction to mice can significantly increase the activity of Na+ and K+-ATPase in erythrocyte membranes, which may be one of the mechanisms of its tonic effect.

Regulate endocrine, promote metabolism and strengthen the body

Cistanche deserticola has a regulating effect on the decrease and increase of nucleic acid content in the liver and spleen of animals with yang deficiency and yin deficiency; it has the effect of activating the adrenal glands and releasing corticosteroids. Its mechanism of action may be to enhance the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian luteinizing function. This effect is not due to their direct stimulation of the secretion of pituitary luteinizing hormone, but to increase the responsiveness of the pituitary to LRH and the responsiveness of the ovary to LH. This suggests that the main significance of Chinese medicine in tonifying the kidney lies in improving the body's regulatory mechanism and playing a positive therapeutic role by restoring the body's own intrinsic functions.

Role of the immune system

Oral administration of 50mg/kg and 100mg/kg of Cistanche deserticola water extract to mice can significantly increase the weight of the spleen and thymus, and significantly enhance the phagocytic ability of peritoneal macrophages, increase hemolysin and PFC values, improve lymphocyte transformation rate and delayed hypersensitivity reaction index, and also increase cAMP levels, reduce cGMP levels, and increase the cAMP/cGMP ratio, which may be one of the reasons why it enhances the phagocytic function of peritoneal macrophages. The mice were gavaged with 1.25g/kg and 2.5g/kg of Cistanche ethanol extract (equivalent to 5.61g/kg and 11.21g/kg of crude drug) for 8 consecutive days. On the 5th day, they were sensitized with sheep red blood cells, which could significantly inhibit the number of plaques in spleen cells. Cistanche deserticola extract and total flavonoids from Epimedium have an additive effect on promoting lymphocyte metastasis in immunosuppressed mice and can enhance the immune capacity of model mice.

The above is all about the pharmacology of Cistanche. According to the above introduction, we know that Cistanche has a good effect on nourishing the kidney and essence, and treating uterine cold and infertility. Therefore, the edible value and medical value of Cistanche are very high. It is worthy of being called desert ginseng. Cistanche has a good effect on male friends, so if male friends have kidney deficiency, they can eat Cistanche.