Testosterone & the Desert Ginseng: Genghis Khan’s Favorite Herb

As to celebrate the men’s health month, we would like to share with you a legend of Genghis Khan and the Desert Ginseng, Cistanche. Genghis Khan, the legendary Mongolian emperor, has been said to have indefatigable stamina and sexual capacity that 8% of the Asian population is said to be his descendants. This is equivalent to 1 in 200 men worldwide! One of the claimed reasons for his surpassing sexual capability, as well as his desire for power and war, was the fact that Genghis Khan consumed Cistanche every day. (Greenfield, 2020)

Testosterone & the Desert Ginseng - Genghis Khan’s Favorite Herb.png

The legend was passed on from generation to generation. Cistanche has been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for maintaining healthy kidney function, treating impotence, premature ejaculation, and as a libido booster for thousands of years. In The Essence of Medical Prescriptions, an esteemed 10th-century medical encyclopedia, a Chinese physician, Tamba Yasuyori, designed numerous formulas to help with male potency and sex performance. Cistanche was included in 80% of them.
 
Cistanche is one of the main components in Cappra®, the bestselling sexual enhancement supplement in Thailand, which was shown to improve erection in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized study of Thai males with mild erectile dysfunction (B, C, S and P, 2020). Modern pharmacological researches have investigated further into the mechanism of action of Cistanche. Multiple studies have shown that Cistanche may help:

  • improve reproductive dysfunction and testis injury by regulating testosterone synthesis* (Wang et al., 2020) 

  • shorten erectile latency and prolong erectile duration* (Gu et al., 2016) (Gu et al., 2013)

  • attenuate poor sperm quality and testicular toxicity* (Jiang et al., 2016)

  • increase sperm quantity* (Jiang et al., 2018)

  • increase sex hormone levels by triggering the release of testicular steroidogenic enzymes* (Wang et al., 2015)

  • Stimulate nitrate oxide production* (Gu et al., 2020)

Puredia Cistanche™ is grown organically in the pristine Tibetan Plateau. Extracted with both water and alcohol, it's standardized with Phenylethanoid Glycosides, Echinacoside, and Acteoside. The health effects of these actives are supported with multiple scientific studies. Puredia Cistanche™ is available in our California and Tibet warehouse with samples and documentation available. 

Featured Ingredient

Specification

  • Phenylethanoid Glycoside ≥ 60%

  • Echinacoside ≥ 20%

  • Acteoside ≥ 6%

Learn More
Available as an ingredient & OEM hard capsule, tablet & stick pack.

This ingredient is certified with:

Reference
1.     Greenfield, B., 2020. Boundless: Upgrade Your Brain, Optimize Your Body & Defy Aging. 1st ed. Las Vegas: Victory Belt Publishing Inc.
2.     B, P., C, P., S, W. and P, A., 2020. A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Crossover Study Of Cappra® For The Treatment Of Mild Or Mild To Moderate Erectile Dysfunction In Thai Male. [online] PubMed. Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24146455.
3.     Wang, Q., Dong, J., Lu, W., He, H., Sun, X., Zhang, K., Song, Q., Jiang, Y., Wang, Y., Li, C. and Tu, P., 2020. Phenylethanol glycosides from Cistanche tubulosa improved reproductive dysfunction by regulating testicular steroids through CYP450-3β-HSD pathway. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 251, p.112500. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31881320/.
4.     Gu, L., Xiong, W. T., Zhuang, Y. L., Zhang, J. S., & Liu, X. (2016). Effects of Cistanche deserticola extract on penis erectile response in castrated rats. Pakistan journal of pharmaceutical sciences, 29(2), 557–562. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27087079/.
5.     Gu, L., Xiong, W., Wang, C., Sun, H., Li, G. and Liu, X., 2013. Cistanche deserticola decoction alleviates the testicular toxicity induced by hydroxyurea in male mice. Asian Journal of Andrology, [online] 15(6), pp.838-840. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3854047/.
6.     Jiang, Z., Wang, J., Li, X. and Zhang, X., 2016. Echinacoside and Cistanche tubulosa (Schenk) R. wight ameliorate bisphenol A-induced testicular and sperm damage in rats through gonad axis regulated steroidogenic enzymes. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 193, pp.321-328. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27422164/.
7.     Jiang, Z., Zhou, B., Li, X., Kirby, G. and Zhang, X., 2018. Echinacoside Increases Sperm Quantity in Rats by Targeting the Hypothalamic Androgen Receptor. Scientific Reports, [online] 8(1). Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5832853/.
8.     Wang, T., Chen, C., Yang, M., Deng, B., Kirby, G. and Zhang, X., 2015. Cistanche tubulosaethanol extract mediates rat sex hormone levels by induction of testicular steroidgenic enzymes. Pharmaceutical Biology, 54(3), pp.481-487. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26004585/.
9.     Gu, L., Lian, D., Zheng, Y., Zhou, W., Gu, J. and Liu, X., 2020. Echinacoside‑induced nitric oxide production in endothelial cells: Roles of androgen receptor and the PI3K‑Akt pathway. International Journal of Molecular Medicine, [online] Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31985022/.

Newsletter 1, CistanchePurediacistanche, men's health, genghis khan, traditional chinese medicine, kidney function, impotence, male impotence, premature ejaculation, libido booster, the essence of medical prescriptions, sex performance, reproductive dysfunction, testis injury, testosterone synthesis, erectile latency, erectile duration, sperm quality, testicular toxicity, sperm quantity, sex hormone, nitrate oxide, organic, tibetan plateau, phenylethanoid glycosides, echinacoside, acteoside