Cistanche tubulosa

Cistanche tubulosa
Cistanche tubulosa (Broomrape in Hamakhtesh Hagadol, Negev, southern Israel)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Orobanchaceae
Genus: Cistanche
Species: C. tubulosa
Binomial name
Cistanche tubulosa
(Schrenk) Hook.f.

Cistanche tubulosa is a holoparasitic desert plant species in the genus Cistanche. The plant lacks chlorophyll and obtains nutrients and water from the host plants whose roots it parasitizes.

Uses

The plant is grown in the Taklamakan desert, and is traditionally used for medicines and foods in China.[1]

A recent study [2] found a combination of Cistanche Tubulosa and Laminaria Japonica Extracts to be "promising substances for promoting health of the scalp and hair treatment"

The main sources of the Chinese herbal medicine cistanche (Chinese: 肉苁蓉, pinyin ròucongróng) are Cistanche salsa and Cistanche deserticola, although it may also be obtained from C. tubulosa. The drug, known in Chinese as suosuo dayun, is collected in spring before sprouting, by slicing the stems of the plant.

Recent Chinese studies demonstrated that C. tubulosa contains several phenylethanoid glycosides, e.g. echinacoside, acteoside, and isoacteoside, which potentially can be used as regulators of blood glucose level for treatment of Type I and Type II diabetes mellitus.

References

  1. ↑ Shimoda, H; Tanaka, J; Takahara, Y; Takemoto, K; Shan, SJ; Su, MH (2009). "The hypocholesterolemic effects of Cistanche tubulosa extract, a Chinese traditional crude medicine, in mice". Am J Chin Med. 37 (6): 1125–1138. doi:10.1142/S0192415X09007545. PMID 19938221.
  2. ↑ Seok, J; Kim, TS; Kwon, HJ; Lee, SP; Kang, MH; Kim, BJ; Kim, MN (2015). "Efficacy of Cistanche Tubulosa and Laminaria Japonica Extracts (MK-R7) Supplement in Preventing Patterned Hair Loss and Promoting Scalp Health". Clin Nutr Res. 4: 124–31. doi:10.7762/cnr.2015.4.2.124. PMC 4418416Freely accessible. PMID 25954733.


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 5/24/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.