8 replies to this topic

[GoingPrimal]

Haven't posted in a while, I trust you fellow Longecity users are doing well 

 

Been wanting to do a post on Cistanche for a while now. Cistanche is considered a Jing-enhancing substance within Traditional Chinese Medicine. To enhance Jing means to delay aging, improve fertility, enhance cognition, boost the immune system and optimize hormones - you can read more about Jing here.

 

Studies are starting to back up the traditional claims of Cistanche being a Jing-enhancing herb. Cistanche is hepatoprotective, is analgesic and anti-inflammatory,and possesses anti-fatigue effects.

 

This study found that 

"the administration of CTE (0.4 and 0.8 g/kg) increased sperm count (2.3- and 2.7-folds) and sperm motility (1.3- and 1.4-folds) and decreased the abnormal sperm (0.76- and 0.6-folds). The serum level of progesterone and testosterone in rats was also increased by CTE administration (p < 0.05)... Our results suggest that the increase in sex hormone levels could be mediated by the induction of testicular steroidogenic enzymes."

 

Bolds my addition.

 

Cistanche may even promote the growth of hair and prevent baldness.

Theres the study Cistanches Herba enhances learning and memory by inducing nerve growth factor which concludes

"It also stimulated NGF secretion in the cortex and hippocampus of the mouse brain at 5 and 20mg/kg/day (3 days, p.o.). Furthermore, CHE increased neuronal cell differentiation, neurite length, and synapse formation in the mouse hippocampus. CHE significantly enhanced learning and memory, as demonstrated by passive avoidance test and novel object recognition test. These results suggest that CHE is useful for improving memory function via its action in upregulating NGF."

 

 

 

In the study How do Chinese Medicines that tonify the kidney inhibit dopaminergic neuron apoptosis?, they concluded that 

"Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay results showed that serum containing Herba Cistanches or Herba Epimedii increased the expression of nerve growth factor, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor in injured MES23.5 cells; serum containing Semen Cuscutae only increased brain-derived neurotrophic factor expression; while expression of the above neurotrophic factors remained the same in cells treated with serum containing selegiline. These findings indicate that Chinese medicines used to tonify the kidney can protect nerve cells by regulating the expression of apoptosis-related factors and neuro-trophic factors in MES23.5 cells."

 

Bold my addition.

 

Finally, two companies joined forces with Peking University to study Cistanche, with many interesting results. I'm not sure if these results were skewed at all due to monetary investments, but the study methods and results look sound and it is a very interesting read nonetheless. They found that cistanche increases the body's production of SOD, inhibits hylauronidase and elastase thereby improving skin, prevents photo-aging of the skin, increases amounts of neurotransmitters, improves learning and memory, is an aphrodisiac and more.

 

 

My experience with Cistanche has been nothing but positive - a subjective increase in well-being as well as nice little uptick in libido. My skin does appear smoother and softer after continued use, though this of course quite the subjective statement. Either way, I figured some of you may be interested in Cistanche and it's effects.

[Blink]

Nice find. Thanks for the information.

How long have you been taking it and what brand do you use?

Edited by Blink, 17 July 2015 - 06:59 PM.

[GoingPrimal]

Nice find. Thanks for the information.

How long have you been taking it and what brand do you use?

 

Thanks Blink. Currently using Jing Herbs' Cistanche extract, but looking to try out Dragon Herbs' Cistanche drops soon. Been taking on and off for close to a year now.

[sthira]

Nice find. Thanks for the information.
How long have you been taking it and what brand do you use?

Thanks Blink. Currently using Jing Herbs' Cistanche extract, but looking to try out Dragon Herbs' Cistanche drops soon. Been taking on and off for close to a year now.

How is your Cistanche trial going?

[chrisp2]

LEF has a standardized product, and it is actually part of one of their "immune products" with I think Reishi.

 

The mouse to human conversions suggesting I'm already taking 50% more than the equivalent mouse dose.  I haven't seen or felt any dramatic improvements in anything.

 

I was taking this "blend" for the immune boosting potential of it...  Meanwhile last week I got a cold, even with my high dose vitamin D intake.

 

Perhaps I need to add one capsule of the standalone Cistanche product to (essentially) double my dose.

[sthira]

LEF has a standardized product, and it is actually part of one of their "immune products" with I think Reishi.

The mouse to human conversions suggesting I'm already taking 50% more than the equivalent mouse dose. I haven't seen or felt any dramatic improvements in anything.

I was taking this "blend" for the immune boosting potential of it... Meanwhile last week I got a cold, even with my high dose vitamin D intake.

Perhaps I need to add one capsule of the standalone Cistanche product to (essentially) double my dose.

Did you have a specific reason for trying it?

[chrisp2]

Well at first it was LEF's potent "marketing" of the immune system boosting properties of their product.

 

But now that I see it has hippocampus neurogenic properties...  That's pretty important to me.

 

 

[lumia]

The last link on the OP's post involved a Taiwanese company called Sinphar, which develops a branded, standardized Cistanche extract. While doesn't look too useful on humans in a small open-label trial:

 

Am J Alzheimers Dis Other Demen.

2013 Jun;28(4):363-70. doi: 10.1177/1533317513488907. Epub 2013 May 17.

An open-label, nonplacebo-controlled study on Cistanche tubulosa glycoside capsules (Memoregain(®)) for treating moderate Alzheimer's Disease.

Guo Q¹, Zhou Y, Wang CJ, Huang YM, Lee YT, Su MH, Lu J.

Author information

• ¹Institute of Neurology, Fudan University Huashan Affiliated Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.

Abstract

AIM:

Efficacy and safety of Cistanche tubulosa glycoside capsules (CTG capsule, Memoregain(®)) for treating Alzheimer's disease (AD) were studied.

METHODS:

A total of 18 patients with AD administered with Memoregain(®) for 48 weeks were assessed for drug efficacy by Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-cognitive subscale (ADAS-cog), Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Activities of Daily Living (ADLs), Blessed Behavioral Scale, and Clinical Global Impression (CGI) scales.

RESULTS:

The MMSE score was 14.78 ± 2.51 at baseline and 14.06 ± 4.26 at study completion. While changes in ADAS-cog score before and after 48 weeks of treatment were statistically insignificant, the score improved, deteriorated, and remained unchanged in 10, 7, and 1 patients, respectively. The ADL and CGI scores showed no significant difference from baseline. All adverse reactions were mild.

CONCLUSION:

After Memoregain(®) treatment, patients with AD showed no obvious aggravation of cognitive function, independent living ability, and overall conditions but were stable throughout the study. Comparison with other long-term medications with acetylcholinesterase inhibitors suggests that Memoregain(®) has a potential to be a possible treatment option for mild to moderate AD. Large trials with bigger population are required to confirm.

KEYWORDS:

Alzheimer’s disease; Cistanche tubulosa glycosides; apoptosis inhibition; clinical trial; nerve cells

 

Experience on rats, however, seem to indicate Cistanche extracts can deplaque on ALZ models, for example:

 

Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci.

2015 Apr;19(7):1234-40.

Glycosides of cistanche improve learning and memory in the rat model of vascular dementia.

Chen J¹, Zhou SN, Zhang YM, Feng YL, Wang S.

Author information

• ¹Department of Neurology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, China. & Brain Science Research Institute, Shandong University, Shandong, P.R. China. simply_100@126.com.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

Glycosides of cistanche (GC) is extracted from Xin Jiang Cistanche, which is widely used as a Chinese herb. This study aims to evaluate the effects of GC on vascular dementia (VD).

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

The VD model was established by the ligature of the bilateral common carotid artery in adult Wistar rats, who received daily i. p. administration of saline, GC (10 mg/kg body weight/d, i.p.) or oxiracetam (450 mg/kg body weight/d, i.p) for 14 days. Morris Water Maze test valued cognitive performance of the rats. The hippocampus was dissected and subjected to proteomics and immunohistochemical analysis.

RESULTS:

The GC group showed significantly lower escape latency than the VD group at four and five days after surgery. They showed no significant difference when compared with sham-operated group and the oxiracetam control group. In the hippocampus, the 21 protein spots in the GC group showed different expression levels compared with the VD group. This included the four proteins that showed a significant difference: three upregulated proteins thioredoxin-like protein 1, dual specificity mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 1 and dihydropyrimidinase-related protein 2 (CRMP-2), and one down-regulated protein glutathione synthetase. Immunohistochemistry analysis showed that P-tau protein level was significantly higher in the VD model group than the sham-operated group (p < 0.05). After GC treatment, P-tau protein level in VD model rats showed a significant decrease compared with VD group treated with saline (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS:

The GC plays a critical role in protecting the hippocampal neurons in the VD, by decreasing P-tau phosphorylation and increasing the CRMP-2 expression level. Pharmacological manipulation of GC offers a new opportunity for VD treatment.

 

Sinphar's extract is the one available as a pharmaceutical in China, and I believe it would be exclusively available in the US by Amway--Amway seemed to have funded some of Sinphar's research on this subject. But I dislike Amway's mixing Gingko with Cistanche.

 

In addition to LEF and Nutralite, Swanson also sells a standardized Cistanche extract. $14.99 for 30 caps of minimum 60% total phenylethanoid glycosides, minimum 20% echinacoside, minimum 6% acteoside.

[Forever21]

Such an underrated substance that I'd like to bring to everyone's focus again.

 

With a recent study alluding to many benefits:

https://www.hindawi....m/2017/3925903/