Factors affecting the quality of Cistanche herbal: from the content of bioactive components

Cistanche is a Chinese medicinal material with a long history. Cistanche is traditionally used as a tonic ingredient in Traditional Chinese Medicine theory. It is known as “Desert Ginseng”, which has been widely used in long-term clinical practice with good effect and high safety, and has been approved as edible herbal medicine in China. The powerful biological activity of Cistanche is derived from its many active ingredients, and the content of the active ingredients is affected by various factors. This paper studies the biosynthetic process of the main chemical components of Cistanche, and effects of plant substrate, growing environment, harvesting and concoction methods on the main active ingredients in Cistanche and the factors affecting the content of the active ingredients were presented, and aims to provide theoretical support for subsequent research and development on the medicinal uses of Cistanche.