As one of the most famous tonic herbal medicines, Cistanches Herba (CH) has long been applied for the treatments of kidney deficiency, impotence, female infertility, morbid leucorrhea, profuse metrorrhagia, and senile constipation in traditional Chinese medical practices. There are four species, including Cistanche deserticola Y. C. Ma, C. tubulosa (Schenk) Wight, C. salsa (C. A. Mey.) G. Beck, and C. sinensis G. Beck, distributed in northwest China. Among them, two species, C. deserticola and C. tubulosa, are authorized as the original sources of CH in Chinese Pharmacopeia. All Cistanche plants are root holoparasitic herbs, and their hosts such as Tamarix and Haloxylon ammodendron, are sand-fixing plants. The wild sources of Cistanche plants are on the edge of extinction attributing to over-harvesting.
Because of continuous efforts in the past 28 years, we have in depth elucidated the active compounds in CH and revealed the pronounced benefits of phenylethanoid glycosides against neurodegenerative disorders, e.g. Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases; we have clarified the parasitic mechanisms of Cistanche plants and established high-quality cultivation protocols; and we have also widely advanced the wide cultivation of their hosts, such as Tamarix plants and H. ammodendron, for 341.3 khm2, and thereafter inoculated C. deserticola and C. tubulosa for 84 khm2. Currently, the source shortage of CH has been completely addressed to guarantee the clinical applications and TCM industry, and ecological civilization, economic development, wealth accumulation and social security are significantly promoted in the border and minority nationality areas. Overall, our continuous efforts create a new model for sustainable desert control as well as a novel strategy for “Targeted Poverty Alleviation” in arid regions.