Methods for identifying the authenticity of Cistanche deserticola

There are often fake Cistanche tubulosa on the market. Although they are plants of the same family, Cistanche tubulosa is far inferior to Cistanche deserticola and has no medicinal value. Some of the Cistanche tubulosa have irregular shapes such as oblate cylindrical and oblate. Most of them are twisted and have no toughness. The cross section is granular and gray-brown, with irregular dark brown dot-like vascular bundles. Because Cistanche tubulosa is easily confused with Cistanche deserticola, everyone should be careful to distinguish them. The cross-section of the authentic Cistanche deserticola is light brown with regular dot-like vascular bundles arranged in it.

Cistanche deserticola: flat cylindrical, slightly curved, 3 to 5 cm long, 2 to 8 cm in diameter, with brown or gray-brown surface. Densely covered with fleshy scales arranged in a shingle-like pattern, usually with broken tips. It is heavy, hard, slightly flexible, not easy to break, and has a brown cross section with light brown dot-like vascular bundles arranged in wavy rings. Slightly sweet and slightly bitter.

Medicinal pieces: cross-sectioned oblate or quasi-circular pieces, 2-8 cm in diameter, brown or gray-brown in surface, some with visible fleshy scaly leaves. The cross section is brown with light brown dot-like vascular bundles arranged in wavy rings or scattered in strips. It is hard but flexible, has a slight odor, and tastes sweet and slightly bitter.

Cistanche grows in the desert and is a parasitic plant. It does not have high requirements for the living environment, but it only parasitizes on the roots of Haloxylon ammodendron and Tamarix chinensis. Cistanche deserticola is a relatively precious traditional Chinese medicine. Traditional Chinese medicine practitioners have always used Cistanche deserticola to nourish the kidneys and improve sperm quality. Cistanche can be used in combination with other Chinese medicines to treat diseases, or it can be used alone to make porridge.