What is the difference between Cynomorium songaricum and Cistanche deserticola

In my daily life, once I have some diseases, I always nourish my body with some Chinese medicinal materials. Among them, Cynomorium songaricum and Cistanche deserticola are the most common tonics, which can play a good conditioning role on the body, especially for male kidney deficiency and impotence. However, Cynomorium songaricum and Cistanche deserticola are very different. Only by mastering their respective differences can we get better conditioning according to our own physical conditions. Let's learn about the difference between Cynomorium songaricum and Cistanche deserticola.

What is the difference between Cynomorium songaricum and Cistanche deserticola

Cynomorium songaricum, also known as the elixir of life, has other names such as ground hair ball, rusty iron rod, and lockstone fruit. It grows wild in the desert Gobi. It grows best at minus 20 degrees Celsius, where there is no snow and the ground is not frozen. Cynomorium is a fleshy parasitic herb that parasitizes on the roots of Nitraria sibiricum (Bubble Thorn). It is mainly produced in the Hexi Corridor of Gansu, and is also produced in Alxa League of Inner Mongolia, Altay of Xinjiang, and Haixi of Qinghai.

Cistanche deserticola, also known as Dayun, is mainly produced in Alxa League of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Traditional Chinese medicine calls it goblin or golden bamboo shoot. It is an extremely precious Chinese medicinal material and is known as the "desert ginseng". Historically, it has been used as a treasure by various countries in the Western Regions to pay tribute to the imperial court.

Cistanche has been used as medicine for a long time. It is sweet and warm in nature, salty and moist in texture. It has the characteristics of tonifying yang without being dry, warming the kidney yang and replenishing kidney deficiency; tonifying yin without being greasy, moistening the intestines and abdomen and treating constipation. Because it has a tonic and soothing effect, it is called Cistanche (calmness).

Li Shizhen, a medical scientist in the Ming Dynasty, not only recorded in detail the discussions of medical scientists of all dynasties on Cistanche in his Compendium of Materia Medica, but also further analyzed and studied the properties and functions of Cistanche. It is written in the book: "Da Yun and mutton can be cooked to treat 'five diseases and seven injuries', cold and heat diseases in the abdomen, strengthen yin and benefit essence and marrow", 'because it is warm and moist, smooth but not laxative, often replenishes but not harsh, and is harsh but can promote blood and yang and help people'; the classics say that it "nourishes the five internal organs, strengthens yin, and benefits essence and qi"; "Da Ming" says that it can treat "male yang deficiency and female yin deficiency". In recent years, the medical community has used modern scientific methods to analyze Cistanche, and the results show that Cistanche contains trace amounts of biological alkali and crystalline neutral substances, which can indeed treat cold pain in the waist and knees, female infertility, neurasthenia, hearing loss, and lowers blood pressure. It can also be used as a hemostatic drug for cystitis, bladder bleeding, and kidney bleeding.

Cistanche deserticola, a parasitic plant with yellow-brown leaves and stems and lavender flowers.

Cistanche deserticola is a parasitic plant with yellow-brown leaves and stems, purple-brown flowers, and stems that can be used as medicine.

【Chinese medicine name】 Cistanche

[Mongolian medicine name] Hujirisegeyichagangaoyao

【Other name】 Cistanche deserticola

【Scientific name】 Cistanche salsa (Camey.) G.Beck (Orobanchaceae)

【Morphological characteristics】 Perennial parasitic herb. Stem endoplasmic, cylindrical, yellow. The scaly leaves are ovate to oblong-lanceolate, closely arranged at the lower part of the stem, looser and gradually longer at the upper part, and yellow or light brownish yellow. The inflorescence is cylindrical, 5-20 cm long; the bracts are ovate or oblong-lanceolate; the bracteoles are lanceolate-oblong, with more or less woolly or glabrous margins, and are nearly as long as the calyx; the calyx is campanulate, light yellow or white, about one-third the length of the corolla tube, with 5 shallow lobes, and the lobes are ovate or nearly circular; the corolla is tubular-bell-shaped, the tube is white, the lobes are semicircular, lavender, and the inner surface of the tube has 2 raised yellow longitudinal lines in the off-axis direction, which often remain unchanged in original color after drying; the stamens are 4, didyna, nearly hidden, the anthers and filaments have wrinkled long soft hairs at the base, and the anthers have a pointed tip at the top; the ovary is superior, with 4 "T"-shaped parietal placentas. The capsule is elliptical and split into two lobes; the seeds are nearly spherical, with a diameter of 0.4 to 0.5 mm. The flowering period is May-June, and the fruiting period is June-July.

Although the effects of Cynomorium songaricum and Cistanche deserticola are very similar, they also have certain differences. The above is an introduction to the differences between Cynomorium songaricum and Cistanche deserticola. After understanding, I hope that friends can combine their own physical conditions and choose the Chinese medicinal materials suitable for them to nourish their bodies. In addition, we must also maintain good living habits in our daily lives and do more physical exercise.