| Cistanche deserticola | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Orobanchaceae |
| Genus: | Cistanche |
| Species: | C. deserticola |
| Binomial name | |
| Cistanche deserticola Y. C. Ma (1960) |
|
Cistanche deserticola is a holoparasitic member of the Orobanchaceae family of plants.
It is a perennial herb 40–160 centimetres (1 ft 4 in–5 ft 3 in) tall. The plant lacks chlorophyll and obtains its nutrients and water from the saxaul (Haloxylon ammodendron) and white saxaul (Haloxylon persicum), whose roots it parasitises.
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The plant is widely distributed in China's deserts including the provinces of Gansu, Shaanxi, and Qinghai, and the Autonomous Regions of Xinjiang, Ningxia, and Inner Mongolia. Cistanche is a hardy, shrub-like plant native to the desert regions of Mongolia and northern China. It is shaped somewhat like a cross between a pine cone and a pineapple, with thick, fleshy stems and large, yellow flowers that grow smaller as the plant¡¯s apex. Cistanche deserticola is found only in China but is widely distributed in China's deserts including in Gansu, Shaanxi, and Qinghai Provinces, and the Autonomous Regions Xinjiang Uygur, Ningxia Hui, and Inner Mongolia. This particular species is known in the Chinese herb trade as suosuo dayun. Cistanche deserticola parasitizes the roots of the desert shrub Haloxylon (mainly H. ammodendron) which grows at elevations of 225–1150 meters. It is collected in the spring when the sprouts have not come out of the ground or have just come up. Inner Mongolia is the top native-producing area of the species; annual production is about 70 tons. The stems are gathered in the spring, dried in the sun and cut into slices for medicinal use.[1]
Along with other members of the Cistanche genus, Cistanche deserticola is a noted source of the Chinese herbal medicine cistanche (Chinese: 肉苁蓉; pinyin: ròucōngróng), commonly called Rou Cong Rong. Pharmaceutical materials, known in Chinese as suosuo dayuan (Chinese: 索索大元), are produced by slicing the stems of the plant. Cistanche deserticola has been placed on CITES Appendix 2, a list of endangered species not banned from trade but requiring monitoring.[2] With increased consumption of cistanche, the population of the species has decreased and its area of distribution has shrunk. Aside from over-collection or indiscriminate collection, an important factor in the diminished supply of cistanche is a loss of the saxaul host, which is widely used for firewood.
An in vivo study reported that high concentrations (250 μg/ml) of Cistanches extract (250 μg/ml) increased nerve growth factor induction in isolated nerve cells.[3]