Cistanches Herba, the dried stem of Cistanches species Cistanche deserticola (Figure 1) and Cistanche tubulosa (Schenk) Wight, is recorded in tnese Pharmacopeia (Committee, 2015). Other non-official species, such as C. sinensis Beck and C. salsa (C. A. Mey) Beck, are also used as Cistanches Herba in certain regions of China due to resource shortage. Cistanches Herba is one of the most valuable herbal drugs in traditional Chinese medicine, which supplements kidney functions, boosts the essence of blood, and moistens the large intestines to free stool (Medicine, 2005). Therefore, it is called “desert ginseng” in China because of the excellent medicinal functions and nourishing effects (Wang et al., 2012). Cistanches Herba, a global genus of holoparasitic desert plant, which is primarily endemic in North Africa, Arabic, and Asian countries ( et al., 2013). The primary producing areas of Cistanches Herbain China as of Xinjiang, and... See full list on Cistanches Herba medicines have a long history of practical use, but scientists worldwide only began to disclose their chemical composition in the1980s. Figure 2 shows an analysis of the related literature. The cumulative histograeased over time, and tnese literature occupies the greatest proportion, which reveals the potential research value of Cistanches Herba. Figure 2A shows that the neuropharmacology related literature occupies the largest proportion of the nine areas of pharmacology, and this topic has become the most important area for research. Figure 2B exhibits the chemical research diversity of Cistanches Herba, with a substantial proportion of research on content determination. Further research may focus on neuropharmacology and component content. See full list on Cistanches Herba has a long history as a medicinal plant in China and Japan because of its wide spectrum of pharmacological activities. It is commonly called Rou Cong Rong in Chinese, and it was first listed medicinal use as a tonic agent in tnese Materia Medica Shen Nong’s Herbal Classic (Estern Han Dynasty) 2000 years ago, and later recorded in Yao Xing Lun in 1590. The Compendium of Materia Medica (Ben Cao Gang Mu, 1619) documented that Cistanches Herba invigorated the kidney to treat kidney deficiencies and geriatric constipation strengthened and nourished marrow and essence, protected semen, and moistened dryness to relax the bowels. These properties were also written in Ben Cao Hui Yan in 1619. A total of 200 medicinal books recorded the pharmacodynamics and use of Cistanches Herba in Chinese history. Cistanches Herba ranks first in Chinese traditional medicine to strengthen prescriptions, which ranks second in anti-aging prescriptions at the same time, behind Panax gins... See full list on Anti-aging Properties Aging is an inevitable process of life. This process involves a series of degenerative changes in tissues and organ functions with advancing age. Studies on aging and anti-aging medicines have made significant progress in recent years. Therefore, anti-aging drugs are a current and prominent issue in gerontology. The aging process reflects a confluence of in vivo and in vitro factors. Aging is closely related to type 2 diabetes, atherosclerosis, and AD. Aging is also related to the decreased r... Anti-oxidative and Anti-apoptotic Activity Cistanches Herba exhibits anti-oxidative, free radical-scavenging and anti-apoptotic activity via different mechanisms. Recent studies demonstrated the anti-oxidant activity of Cistanches Herba, particularly in the clearing of all types of free radicals in vivo and in vitro, improvement in the activity of anti-oxidant enzymes in the body, and inhibition of the formation of lipid peroxide, MDA, and brown fat (Wang et al., 2001 Wu and Fu, 2004 Luo et al., 2012 Song, 2013). Current studies de... Learning and Memory Enhancement Learning and memory are advanced functions of the brain, and these functions are important factors in determining intelligence. Learning and memory impairment is a common symptom in different types of encephalopathy, such as attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder in childhood, adolescent chorea, lobar atrophy disease, neurosis, senile cerebral arteriosclerosis, and dementia. Medicinal research demonstrated that the impairment of learning and memory is closely related to the impairment o... See full list on Anti-Alzheimer’s Disease Alois Alzheimer originally described AD in 1906 based on his observations of amyloid plaques, neurofibrillary tangles, and vascular anomalies during the autopsy of August Deter, a patient who died with severe cognitive defects. AD is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that affected more than 30 million people worldwide in 2010 (Williams et al., 2011). The pathogenesis of this disease is complex and not completely understood. However, several potential causative factors were proposed, in... Anti-Parkinson’s Disease Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that is characterized by the selective degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta and a consequent reduction in striatal dopamine levels in the brain. PD is one of the most common diseases in the elderly. The clinical mude hypokinesia, skeletal muscle tension, and resting muscle tremor. British doctor James Ba Jinsen (Parkinson) first described this unusual group of symptoms i... See full list on Cistanches Herba was commonly considered a safe traditional medicine in China for 1000 of years (Shen Nong’s Herbal Classic). Common adverse clinical reactions of preparations of ude nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain, and dizziness. However, recent investigations indicated that extracts of Cistanches Herba exhibit no obvious toxi (Peng et al., 2011 Jiang et al., 2013 Huang et al., 2014 Qin et al., 2015). Toxicology may be a new direction of future research. See full list on easing interest subject in recent years, and many traditional uses have been validated by pharmacological studies. Previous animal investigations and in vitro studies of plant preparations revealed that Cistanches Herba possesses a significant neuroprotective effect. Cistanches Herba extract and its constituents not only exhibit positive activities in AD and PD treatments but also against other diseases and conditions, such as aging, and learning and memory impairments. These results support the considerably high value of Cistanches Herba, which plays a significant role in clinical application and provides a potential basis for new drugs against nervous system diseases. Pharmacological analysis of Cistanches Herbaextracts and related compounds also provided new insights into the treatment of nervous system diseases. Previous researches have investigated the pharmacokinetics and bioavailability of PhGs. In Jia’s study (Jia et al., 2006), the echinaco... See full list on CG and LH designed the study. XY collected the data of pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease and drew the Figure 3. CG wrote the manuscript and made the other figures and tables. XY and LH added the helpful discussions. CG, XY, and LH edited the manuscript, figures and tables. See full list on The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or ficial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. See full list on The study was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No: No: No:). See full list on
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