High-quality Formation of Cistanches Herba： A Review / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ABSTRACT

With the continuous development of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM）， the requirement for the quality of Chinese medicines has become increasingly higher since they have been widely used in clinical practice. Chinese medicinal materials are the material basis for the inheritance and development of TCM， and their quality directly affects the clinical efficacy. Studying the quality of Chinese medicinal materials is the key to ensure the quality and realize the large-scale application. As one of rare Chinese medicinal materials， Cistanches Herba has the functions of tonifying kidney yang， invigorating blood and essence， moistening intestines to relieve constipation. High-quality Cistanches Herba is characterized by glossy appearance， high density， fleshy and soft texture， and sweet taste. With the reduction of wild resources， the products from cultivated Cistanche deserticola or C. tubulosa become dominant on the market of Cistanches Herba. The cultivation areas are widely distributed， mainly concentrated in Gansu， Inner Mongolia， and Xinjiang. However， the cultivated products have varied quality due to the differences in germplasm， producing region， cultivation method， harvesting， and processing. According to the theories of quality evaluation based on morphological characteristics and excellent appearance indicating high quality， this paper reviewed the literature on the quality evaluation， growth， development， and processing of Cistanches Herba in the last decade to explore the main factors （genetic characteristics， environmental conditions， and harvesting and processing factors） affecting the quality of Cistanches Herba. The review aims to explore the factors for the high quality and provide a reference for the producing region screening， directional cultivation， and production of Cistanches Herba.