Cistanche increases steroidogenic enzymes, lowers NO, helps osteoporosis and Alzheimer's

[Mauritio]

I posted these studies in another thread, but I feel they deserve their own thread as they show that cistanche is helping the body on a systemic level.

A few new studies on cistanche tubulosa:

This one shows that cistanche increases biosynthesis of testosterone by increasing important steroidogenic enzymes .
("Meanwhile, the expressions of the key steroidogenic enzymes including CYP11A1 and 3β-HSD were significantly up-regulated...")
So basically it helps downstream conversion of cholesterol into pregnenolone and DHEA into androstenedione and from there into other steroids like Testosterone.

They measured the damage done to the testicles by applying cortisone (!) , which is interesting that this seems to be an established model of inducing testicular damage and low testosterone !

In this one an HED of 750mg was ineffective, 1,5g was more effective and 3g was the most effective. Unfortunately they didn't test 5g or higher .
So if people dont have good results i suspect they might not be taking enough as most of the animal study show no /minimal effects from low doses and good effects from HEDs of 2,5-5g .
I dont know how much taking an extract factors in to that ! As some people say :" I dont need to take 5g as I take a 10:1 extract so I only take 500mg " dont know if it works like that.





In this study they tested some glycosides from cistanche tubulosa . And they found some awesome things .
They decreased NO by 33% and 39% , inhibited Endotoxin induced inflammation, decreased iNOS, IL-1, IL-6 , COX-2 and TNF-alpha !
What an impressive mechanism of action. Remindes me of aspirin!
The Cox-2 lowering is not to be underestimated and might be one of the reasons for the testosterone increasing effects of cistanche tubulosa.

(Inhibiting COX-2 In Senescent Rat Leydig Cells Restores Testosterone Synthesis)

The Anti-inflammatory Effects of Lignan Glycosides from Cistanche tubulosa stems on LPS/IFN-γ-induced RAW264.7 Macrophage Cells via PI3K/ AKT Pathway - PubMed

Taken together, these results suggest that 1 and 4 play an important role in the attenuation of LPS/IFN-γ-induced inflammatory responses in RAW264.7 cells and that the mechanisms involve down-regulation of the PI3K/AKT pathway.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

​

Another study shows beneficial effects of cistanche's components on alzheimers and osteoporosis:

"After administrated with echinacoside and acteoside, the typical pathological features of osteoporosis and Alzheimer's disease were ameliorated."

Establishment of the concurrent experimental model of osteoporosis combined with Alzheimer's disease in rat and the dual-effects of echinacoside and acteoside from Cistanche tubulosa - PubMed

The model of osteoporosis combined with Alzheimer's disease in rat was feasible and successfully established. Echinacoside and acteoside also showed some significant effects on this concurrent model, and they could be potential candidates from Cistanche tubulosa with double effects for further...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[Rave re-peat]

Amazing! Well done on your research. This is so cool!
Its definantly on my supplement list.
You got any Good source? In studies are they using dried powder? 2,5-5 grams as a herb powder seems like its gonna be gruesome to Ingest. Have you tasted chistanche? Curious if you could brew a Tea with the powder and drink it. IF it would taste too bad. How do you take it?

 

[Mauritio]

Amazing! Well done on your research. This is so cool!
Its definantly on my supplement list.
You got any Good source? In studies are they using dried powder? 2,5-5 grams as a herb powder seems like its gonna be gruesome to Ingest. Have you tasted chistanche? Curious if you could brew a Tea with the powder and drink it. IF it would taste too bad. How do you take it?

I have so far only tried a source from the UK that was simply the cheapest one . But it took 2 months to arrive. In the meantime I ordered the one from rawfoodforest, that is supposed to be decent .
The one from the UK works ,even at 1,2g only . Which is about half the recommended dose . So it'll be interesting to see how the rawfoodforest one compares.
I only tried capsules but they smell pretty good. Others said the taste is alright , not bitter .

 

[not_James_Bond]

If one already uses Aspirin regularly would Cistanche be 'too much', or perhaps cycle them both. idk.

I am also confused, do you use deserticola, tubulosa, a mix of both?? Would you even cycle both?, deserticola one day, tubulosa the next idk, @Hans what do you think, please.

 

[Soren]

Fascinating thanks for sharing this. I think this plant grows naturally where I live. Might have to go out and harvest some.

 

[Mauritio]

If one already uses Aspirin regularly would Cistanche be 'too much', or perhaps cycle them both. idk.

I am also confused, do you use deserticola, tubulosa, a mix of both?? Would you even cycle both?, deserticola one day, tubulosa the next idk, @Hans what do you think, please.

Why would it be too much? Lowering cox-2 is always a good thing . That would only be the case of cistanche is also thinning the blood ,which I haven't read so far .

I would use tubulosa first then deserticola and last salsa .

 

[Mauritio]

Fascinating thanks for sharing this. I think this plant grows naturally where I live. Might have to go out and harvest some.

Really ? Do you live in the chinese desert?

 

[dukesbobby777]

I have so far only tried a source from the UK that was simply the cheapest one . But it took 2 months to arrive. In the meantime I ordered the one from rawfoodforest, that is supposed to be decent .
The one from the UK works ,even at 1,2g only . Which is about half the recommended dose . So it'll be interesting to see how the rawfoodforest one compares.
I only tried capsules but they smell pretty good. Others said the taste is alright , not bitter .

I tried the one from rawforestfoods and I was hugely impressed. What was the one you bought from the UK? If it’s cheaper I would like to buy that one instead. Because I’m from the UK.

 

[Mauritio]

I tried the one from rawforestfoods and I was hugely impressed. What was the one you bought from the UK? If it’s cheaper I would like to buy that one instead. Because I’m from the UK.

What has been you results with it so far ?

Dont know if it's cheaper on a gram per gram basis though .

Cistanche Extract ( 20:1 equivalent to 10,000mg ), Vegan Capsules | eBay

Cistanche Extract. Discontinue use and consult a doctor if adverse reactions occur. Not intended for use by persons under the age of 18. Keep out of reach of children. Cistanches is a tonic herb,harvested in the desert regions in Mongolia and northern China where it has been used forover 1800 years.

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[not_James_Bond]

The only one I can find in the UK with tubulosa is Life Extension 30 veg-caps, think I will try this firstly, although has a tiny bit of Silica.

 

[not_James_Bond]

The only one I can find in the UK with tubulosa is Life Extension 30 veg-caps, think I will try this firstly, although has a tiny bit of Silica.

Oh, I saw this >

I tried this one, but unfortunately didn't notice much in terms of libido/testosterone.


I think its the way they standardize the herb.

Think I will leave it and think about whether Cistanche is worth the hassle of obtaining it in UK.

 

[L_C]

I posted these studies in another thread, but I feel they deserve their own thread as they show that cistanche is helping the body on a systemic level.

A few new studies on cistanche tubulosa:

This one shows that cistanche increases biosynthesis of testosterone by increasing important steroidogenic enzymes .
("Meanwhile, the expressions of the key steroidogenic enzymes including CYP11A1 and 3β-HSD were significantly up-regulated...")
So basically it helps downstream conversion of cholesterol into pregnenolone and DHEA into androstenedione and from there into other steroids like Testosterone.

They measured the damage done to the testicles by applying cortisone (!) , which is interesting that this seems to be an established model of inducing testicular damage and low testosterone !

In this one an HED of 750mg was ineffective, 1,5g was more effective and 3g was the most effective. Unfortunately they didn't test 5g or higher .
So if people dont have good results i suspect they might not be taking enough as most of the animal study show no /minimal effects from low doses and good effects from HEDs of 2,5-5g .
I dont know how much taking an extract factors in to that ! As some people say :" I dont need to take 5g as I take a 10:1 extract so I only take 500mg " dont know if it works like that.





In this study they tested some glycosides from cistanche tubulosa . And they found some awesome things .
They decreased NO by 33% and 39% , inhibited Endotoxin induced inflammation, decreased iNOS, IL-1, IL-6 , COX-2 and TNF-alpha !
What an impressive mechanism of action. Remindes me of aspirin!
The Cox-2 lowering is not to be underestimated and might be one of the reasons for the testosterone increasing effects of cistanche tubulosa.

(Inhibiting COX-2 In Senescent Rat Leydig Cells Restores Testosterone Synthesis)

The Anti-inflammatory Effects of Lignan Glycosides from Cistanche tubulosa stems on LPS/IFN-γ-induced RAW264.7 Macrophage Cells via PI3K/ AKT Pathway - PubMed

Taken together, these results suggest that 1 and 4 play an important role in the attenuation of LPS/IFN-γ-induced inflammatory responses in RAW264.7 cells and that the mechanisms involve down-regulation of the PI3K/AKT pathway.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

​

Another study shows beneficial effects of cistanche's components on alzheimers and osteoporosis:

"After administrated with echinacoside and acteoside, the typical pathological features of osteoporosis and Alzheimer's disease were ameliorated."

Establishment of the concurrent experimental model of osteoporosis combined with Alzheimer's disease in rat and the dual-effects of echinacoside and acteoside from Cistanche tubulosa - PubMed

The model of osteoporosis combined with Alzheimer's disease in rat was feasible and successfully established. Echinacoside and acteoside also showed some significant effects on this concurrent model, and they could be potential candidates from Cistanche tubulosa with double effects for further...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Would that be a good thing to take for a woman? ...since it promotes testosterone. I mean some testosterone is good for a woman, just wondering how much you get from the plant.

 

[dukesbobby777]

What has been you results with it so far ?

Dont know if it's cheaper on a gram per gram basis though .

Cistanche Extract ( 20:1 equivalent to 10,000mg ), Vegan Capsules | eBay

Cistanche Extract. Discontinue use and consult a doctor if adverse reactions occur. Not intended for use by persons under the age of 18. Keep out of reach of children. Cistanches is a tonic herb,harvested in the desert regions in Mongolia and northern China where it has been used forover 1800 years.

www.ebay.co.uk

I liked the rawforestfoods product. I think I also tried that UK one but didn’t notice anything from it. So that might mean you find the rawforestfoods one better, who knows.

 

[Mauritio]

I liked the rawforestfoods product. I think I also tried that UK one but didn’t notice anything from it. So that might mean you find the rawforestfoods one better, who knows.

Did you see any benefits on libido , weight, testosterone symptoms, etc...?
Ok interesting . The rawfoodforest one takes an eternity to get here, its stuck in New York for two weeks already .

 

[Mauritio]

Would that be a good thing to take for a woman? ...since it promotes testosterone. I mean some testosterone is good for a woman, just wondering how much you get from the plant.

It doesnt have any intrinsic testosterone in the plant itself ,there's only molecules that can increase the enzymes that make T inside the body, that's a different MoA .
Besides ive read many reports on the forum from women taking even highly androgenic stuff like androsterone ,so i think you should be fine .
Plus it has also been shown to increase progesterone , in higher doses even more so than testosterone . I think there was a doubling of P-levles in mice.
So at worst I think it just wouldnt agree with you.
Just my 2c.

 

[MyUsernameHere]

Where can I buy Cistanche that isn't garbage then? I've used some I bought before from Desertcart and I didn't feel damn near anything from it.

 

[Mauritio]

Where can I buy Cistanche that isn't garbage then? I've used some I bought before from Desertcart and I didn't feel damn near anything from it.

Like i said: rawfoodforest and the one lokzo recommends seem legit.

 

[Soren]

Really ? Do you live in the chinese desert?

I live in the Canary Islands they are just off the coast of Morocco. Did some research and the type that exists out here is called the Cistanche phelypaea, it appears to be from the same family tubulosa but I don't know if it has the same medicinal properties. The photo below is from a beach I have been to many times. Trying to find out if there is something too this because quite a lot grow out here.

According to this website: it has been used as "The plant is used as a remedy for diarrhoea and menstrual disorders in Somali traditional medicine." This might mean that it has anti-serotonin properties.

I found a study from the Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis that attempted to determine if it had any potential health benefits and it looks quite promising.

Exploring the halophyte Cistanche phelypaea (L.) Cout as a source of health promoting products: In vitro antioxidant and enzyme inhibitory properties, metabolomic profile and computational studies

Highlights​

C. phelypaea roots/flowers water extracts have high antioxidant activity.
•
C. phelypaea roots/flowers water extracts have high enzymatic inhibitory properties.
•
Tubuloside A, echinacoside and acteoside were among the most abundant compounds.
•
Tubuloside A may be a competitive inhibitor of α-glucosidase and tyrosinase.
•
C. phelypaea should be explored for pharmaceutical and biomedical applications.

 

[Melekai]

Fwiw, Life Extensions sells Cistanche tubulosa standardized extract in caps (210mg):

Standardized Cistanche, 30 vegetarian capsules - Life Extension

Life Extension’s Standardized Cistanche utilizes powerful plant extracts to promote longevity and provide support against immune senescence.

www.lifeextension.com

 

[Mauritio]

I live in the Canary Islands they are just off the coast of Morocco. Did some research and the type that exists out here is called the Cistanche phelypaea, it appears to be from the same family tubulosa but I don't know if it has the same medicinal properties. The photo below is from a beach I have been to many times. Trying to find out if there is something too this because quite a lot grow out here.

According to this website: it has been used as "The plant is used as a remedy for diarrhoea and menstrual disorders in Somali traditional medicine." This might mean that it has anti-serotonin properties.

I found a study from the Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis that attempted to determine if it had any potential health benefits and it looks quite promising.

Exploring the halophyte Cistanche phelypaea (L.) Cout as a source of health promoting products: In vitro antioxidant and enzyme inhibitory properties, metabolomic profile and computational studies

Highlights​

C. phelypaea roots/flowers water extracts have high antioxidant activity.
•
C. phelypaea roots/flowers water extracts have high enzymatic inhibitory properties.
•
Tubuloside A, echinacoside and acteoside were among the most abundant compounds.
•
Tubuloside A may be a competitive inhibitor of α-glucosidase and tyrosinase.
•
C. phelypaea should be explored for pharmaceutical and biomedical applications.



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At least it looks pretty similar. I would try your local kind first and then a version of a well reputed seller after that , to make sure you get a good comparison.