Cistanche

Article by Stefan Burns - Updated April 2022. Join the Wild Free Organic email newsletter!

Cistanche Quick Fact Sheet

Name:	Cistanche, Rou Cong-Rong, Linnaean - C. tubulsa, C. deserticola, C. phelypaea
Color:	Stem: yellow, brown, tan, purple. Flowers: yellow, purple, pink
Constituents:	Volatile oils, non-volatile phenylethanoid glycosides (most notably echinacoside and acteoside), iridoids, lignans, alditols, oligosaccharides, polysaccharides.
Effect:	Anti-fatigue, endocrine adaptogen, boosts testosterone, aphrodisiac, neuroprotective, improves circulatory system, reduces cholesterol, anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, improves immunity, anti-cancer
Preparation:	The stem is ground into a powder. Often extracted and standardized to increase echinacoside and acetoside content by weight
Dosing:	100-400mg extracted powder, 3-5g raw powder. For boosting testosterone use daily and then cycle off after 1-3 months.
General Notes:	Cistanche is an excellent herbal for men looking to optimize their hormones and boost their testosterone levels. Cistanche improves cholesterol metabolism and transport, lowering blood cholesterol to increase hormone production. Still being researched for it's effects on neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and parkinson's disease. Has a good safety profile but since it has a potent effect on the endocrine system care should taken with supplementing cistanche. Improves exercise endurance. Strong morning wood is a common side-effect for men. Sometimes called the "ginseng of the desert".

What is Cistanche?

Cistanche is a genus of perennial herbs consisting of 22 known species that grow in warm arid deserts throughout northwest China, Mongolia, Iran, and India. Cistanche is a parasitic herb that lacks chlorophyll, instead attaching to the roots of sand-fixing plants to draw water and nutrients from them. Cistanche only grows well under extreme environmental conditions characterized by an extremely arid climate, depauperate soils, intensive sunshine, large temperature differences, and annual precipitation <250mm. These rare growing conditions and it’s popularity of use in Traditional Chinese Medicine (known as Rou Cong-Rong) has led to Cistanche being an endangered wild species.

Cistanche is one of the most popular tonics in Traditional Chinese Medicine, being known as the “Ginseng of the Deserts” because of its wide-ranging beneficial health effects, and it’s increasingly becoming a popular herbal worldwide, especially in the treatment of renal problems, to boost testosterone levels, and to help treat neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s disease.

Types of Cistanche

Cistanche deserticola and Cistanche tubulosa are the two main species of cistanche that are harvested and prepared into herbal supplements and extracts. They differ slightly in the composition of their chemical constituents but overall are similar enough to be used interchangeably. Cistanche tubulosa is more commonly found as a supplement than Cistanche deserticola.

Benefits of Cistanche

Herba cistanche has many effects throughout the body because of its unique combination of chemical constituents. The most active of these components are:

1. Phenylethanoid Glycosides | Functions: Antioxidant, neuroprotective, enhances sexual function, enhances immunity, hepatoprotection (prevents liver damage)

2. Echinacoside | Functions: Neuroprotective, antioxidant

3. Acteoside | Functions: Endothelium-dependent relaxation, neuroprotective, anti-allergy

4. Tubuloside B | Functions: Neuroprotective

Together these chemical constituents and many others broadly influence the function of immune, cardiovascular, renal, endocrine, and digestive systems providing the following benefits:

Cistanche Improves Brain Function

• Prevents brain neuron apoptosis (programmed cell death)

• Blocks amyloid plaque deposition

• Promotes the production of neurons by accelerating growth of neurites

• Increases dopamine, noadrenaline, and serotonin neurotransmitter concentrations in the brain

Cistanche Metabolism Improvements

• Enhances mitochondrial respiration

• Enhances glutathione antioxidant status

• Remedies Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis dysfunction and chronic fatigue syndrome

• Increases autonomic activity

• Improves exercise endurance

• Decreases post-exercise blood lactic acid and blood urea nitrogen levels

• Increases longevity

• Prevents bone loss by regulating bone metabolism genes

Cistanche’s Aphrodisiac Effect

• Increases sex hormone concentrations by inducing testicular steroidogenic enzymes

• Changes gene expression of genes responsible for testosterone synthesis

• Increases number of germ cells

• Reduces latency period in-between erections

• Improves testes function

• Vaso-relaxing properties

Cistanche’s Immune-boosting effect

• Increases lymphoid cells

• Increases the kill rate of cancer cells

• Activates phagocytic function of macrophages

• High levels of polysaccharides enhance immunity

• Stimulates the proliferation of antibody-producing cells

• Decreases level of peripheral memory T cells and enhances levels of naive T cells

Cistanche Antioxidant Protection

• Acetoside as an antioxidant is 15x stronger than resveratrol and 5x stronger than Vitamin C

• Prevents DNA damage

• Enhances superoxide dismutase activity

• Prevents lipid peroxidation

• Inhibits hepatic apoptosis

Note: Much of the research into cistanche showing these benefits has been done using mice and rats and therefore hasn’t been confirmed for humans.

Depending on someone’s current state of health, cistanche can be useful for men or women, though in general cistanche is more useful to men because of its testosterone boosting properties. Here are the biggest benefits for each sex:

Cistanche Male Benefits

Cistanche increases testosterone production. I have firsthand experience with this, I once supplemented with cistanche for one month and measured my testosterone levels before and after. My multi-variable experiment raised my free testosterone levels by 53%, of which I mostly attribute to the cistanche supplementation! Click the button below to read the full protocol I used and my results.

Further benefits of cistanche for men is that it improves the functions of the testes, increasing sperm count and production of male hormones. Male hormone levels and sperm counts have been on a precipitous decline for decades now and cistanche is a natural supplement that can help reverse this trend.

In the bedroom, cistanche increases the size, strength, and duration of erections and also reduces the latency period in-between erections.

Cistanche Female Benefits

Cistanche reduces chronic fatigue syndrome, otherwise known as adrenal fatigue. Chronic fatigue syndrome is caused most often by a dysregulation of the HPA axis, brought on by excess stress, poor sleep, a bad diet, and other lesser factors. Chronic fatigue syndrome can effect men and women, but typically women are more likely to develop chronic fatigue syndrome for a variety of reasons.

By improving energy metabolism, endurance, and immunity, cistanche is a powerful supplement that can be used to help fix a dysregulated HPA axis and overcome chronic fatigue syndrome. Click the button below to learn more about adrenal fatigue and what steps can be taken to overcome it.

Just as cistanche is a potent aphrodisiac for men, so to is it for women.

How Long does it take for Cistanche to Work?

Cistanche is best used consistently for 2+ weeks in order to fully benefit from its effects. When used acutely for just 1-3 days a larger dose will be required to feel the effects, and even then the effect size will be smaller than if cistanche is dosed consistently for 2+ weeks.

The effects of cistanche build up and really begin to be noticeable at the 10+ day mark depending on how sensitive one is to the herb. Speaking from personal experience in supplementing with cistanche many times now, I notice that the testosterone boosting effects of cistanche really begin to manifest after 1-2 weeks and it continues to increase steadily from there. It takes 1-2 weeks for cistanche supplementation to begin to noticeably improve exercise performance, and it’s around this time as well that the effects of higher testosterone levels are also noticed (increased confidence, stronger, better erections, etc).

Supplementing with cistanche for 1-2 months ensures that its beneficial effects culminate to a point of being relevant and noticeable. Though cistanche has a long history of being used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for extended periods of time without break, since cistanche alters the function of the endocrine system, I recommend cycling off cistanche for as long as it was used for. For example if cistanche is supplemented with for 2 months, it shouldn’t be used for 2 months afterwards.

Cistanche Side Effects

Cistanche tubulosa extract orally administered at 26.4 g/kg to male and female mice and kept for 8 days caused no abnormalities, fatal events, or autopsy abnormalities. No issues were observed when dosing 0.65-1.30 g/kg cistanche daily for 30 days to rats.

Examining potential long term toxicity, Cistanche tubulosa extract was orally administered to male and female rats at 1.65 g/kg per day and kept for 180 days. No abnormalities, fatal events, or autopsy abnormalities were recorded.

Furthermore, no abnomalities, fatal events, or autopsy abnormalities were observed when a Cistanche tubulosa extract was orally administered to male and female beagle dogs at 1.50 g/kg daily and kept for 180 days.

This data was collected by Oryza Oil & Fat Company out of Japan, and when converted to Human Equivalent Doses (HED) based on body surface area we arrive at the following dosages:

• 2.15 g/kg Cistanche HED - acute toxicity study (mice)

• 0.85 g/kg Cistanche HED - 180 day toxicity study (dogs)

• 0.25 g/kg Cistanche HED - 180 day toxicity study (rats)

When multiplied by individual bodyweight, the human equivalent dose for a person is very large at 10+ grams, an amount that far exceeds the typical dosing recommendations, and therefore is not recommended to try but does give confidence that cistanche has a strong safety profile with very little chance of negative side effects occurring at the much lower dosages recommended.

In terms of practical side effects that may be experienced, a large dose may cause digestive discomfort and since cistanche increases testosterone levels, it may cause alterations to mood and aggression. Additionally cistanche as a vaso-relaxant reduces blood pressure and should not be taken if an individual’s blood pressure is already on the low side (<80/60).

Cistanche Dosage

The beneficial health effects of cistanche manifest nicely at dosages of 100 mg - 500 mg of an extracted powder used daily.

For a raw powder, the concentration of active ingredients will be less and therefore a higher dose of 500 mg - 2 grams should be used to achieve the same effect. The dose chosen within that range will depend on an individual’s bodyweight, their individual physiology, and the potency of the effect they desire.

When first using cistanche, start with the lowest dose and only after some time has passed should the dose be increased if desired.

Megadosing Cistanche

I have experimented with megadosing cistanche (400-600 mg of Nootropics Depot Cistanche) which is 2-3x the recommended serving size. I have done this for a few weeks and here are my anecdotal observations:

• Rapid strength gains, increases in muscle hardness

• Bodyfat around the lower abdominals reduced

• Minor confidence boost (and I already wasn’t deficient there)

• I went from having just the rare pimple to noticeable acne on the back

The increase in skin acne is a good indicator that testosterone levels are increased in the body, but it’s also undesirable. For this reason I think megadosing cistanche is best done cautiously and only for very limited periods of time (<4 weeks) and for specific reasons (breaking through a strength training plateau, temporary confidence boost for a meeting/event). If megadosing cistanche for the benefits listed above but wish to avoid the possible skin issues, supplement with dandelion at the same time. I discuss this more in more detail in my article on boosting testosterone with cistanche.

Cistanche vs Tongkat Ali

Like cistanche, tongkat ali is another herbal often used by men to increase testosterone levels. I’ve used both herbs extensively and will share my experience of how they compare to each other.

Tongkat ali is a testosterone boosters that works rather quickly, I was able to feel the before and after difference in just 2-3 days, whereas the effects of cistanche build up over weeks and started to became noticeable to me after about a week or so.

Cistanche is much smoother and easier on my body, whereas tongkat ali after a few weeks begins to feel very harsh. This is the main reason I supplement with cistanche much more often than tongkat ali, it just feels safer and less impactful in a negative way on my body.

It’s my experience also that cistanche is a better testosterone booster overall than tongkat ali. Cistanche can be supplemented with for longer periods of time which allows a greater culminative effect to build up, and it’s better at improving overall metabolism. For me tongkat ali gave me more of a raw energy and strength which when focused and utilized to increase exercise performance was useful.

If interested in a quick 1-3 week boost of testosterone, strength, and energy then tongkat ali is a good option, whereas cistanche is a better option for longer term testosterone, strength, and energy improvements.

Where to Buy Cistanche Supplement?

There are many different sellers of cistanche supplements worldwide which can be seen by visiting a marketplace like Amazon.

Cistanche Tubulosa Powder

My favorite supplier of cistanche is Nootropics Depot. Their cistanche product is highly standardized, containing a minimum of 50% echinacosides and 10% acetoside, overall delivering more echinacosides and acetoside per gram than most other cistanche products. I also like Nootropics Depot’s cistanche product because it has a neutral taste and isn’t bitter. The cistanche from Nootropics Depot works very well and is reasonably priced.

If purchasing cistanche from a Chinese pharmacy ask for Rou Cong-Rong, which is how they refer to cistanche.

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References:

1. Li Z, Lin H, Gu L, Gao J, Tzeng CM. Herba cistanche (Rou cong-rong): one of the best pharmaceutical gifts of traditional chinese medicine. Front Pharmacol. 2016;7.

2. Al-Snafi, Ali Esmail. Bioactive metabolites and pharmacology of Cistanche tubulosa-A review. IOSR Journal of Pharmacy 10.1 (2020): 37-46.

3. Jiang Y, Tu PF. Analysis of chemical constituents in Cistanche species. Journal of Chromatography A. 2009;1216(11):1970-1979.

4. Oryza Oil and Fat Chemical Co. Food and cosmetic ingredients with tonics, memory improving, anti-aging, anti-fatigue, anti-sex dysfunction, immune boosting and fat metabolism accelerating properties of Cistanche tubulosa extract-P-25 (Water-soluble Powder, Food Grade). Oryza Oil and Fat Chemical Co., Ltd. 2007

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