Family

Orobanchaceae

Genus

Cistanche

Common Name

Rou Cong Rong

Plant Figure

Description

Cistanche deserticola is an edible and medicinal plant distributed primarily in North Africa, Arabic, and Asian countries. It is also eaten as food in Iran, India, Japan, and Mongolia. The fleshy stem of C. deserticola has been commonly used as a tonic in China, Korea, and Japan to improve memory, enhance sexual function, protect the liver, tonify kidney, etc. Modern phytochemical studies on C. deserticola isolation of various components including phenylethanoid glycosides (PhGs), iridoids, lignans, and polysaccharides. Among them, the PhDs were found to be the active components (REF).