Safety · Supplement
Cistanche: side effects, safety & interactions
Generally tolerated; limited safety data.
- Overall grade
- Grade D
- Last revised
- 0
- graded outcomes
- 0
- references listed
Assembled by the app from other entries in this library. It adds no evidence of its own — follow the links to the entries it draws on.
The evidence in words
Safety profile
Generally tolerated; limited safety data.
Interactions to respect
No major interactions are on record for Cistanche at typical doses, but tell your clinician about everything you take.
What Cistanche is
Cistanche is a parasitic desert plant used in Chinese medicine for vitality, libido, and cognition.
The honest bottom line
A traditional tonic with little rigorous human evidence. Early at best.
Related reading
Entries that share this one's tags or conditions.
- Panax Ginseng: side effects, safety & interactionsCan be over-stimulating and may lower blood glucose (additive with diabetes drugs) and affect blood pressure; interacts Evidence grade C
- Astragalus: side effects, safety & interactionsGenerally safe; immune-stimulating, so caution with immunosuppressants/autoimmunity.Evidence grade C
- Bacopa Monnieri: side effects, safety & interactionsGenerally safe; GI upset (cramping, loose stools) is common, easing when taken with food. Mild sedative and thyroid-hormEvidence grade B
- CistancheA desert 'tonic' herb for vigor and libido with mostly traditional and preclinical backing.Evidence grade D
Sources
This entry lists no references of its own — it is assembled from the entries it links to, whose sources are on their pages.
Last revised . A grade is this entry's reading of the evidence, not medical advice.