PlainPill

Cistanche

People mainly take Cistanche for libido, mood, hormones. Based on 59 first-hand reports and 4 meta-analyses & systematic reviews in the medical literature. Ranked #367 of 1,974 overall.

31
User score
Mixed
20% positive7% mixed7% negative66% unclear

Of reports that state an outcome, 59% are positive.

Clinical research
BModerate research base
4
meta-analyses
6
RCTs
615
papers

What Cistanche does, according to users

Of the people who reported each effect, the share who said it got better.

What the research says

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses from PubMed, with their published conclusions.

BModerate research base

At least one meta-analysis, or 5+ randomized controlled trials. The grade measures how much human research exists — read the conclusions below for what it found.

Front Nutr · 2025 · Meta-analysis / systematic review
Effects of dietary supplements on androgenetic alopecia: a systematic review and network meta-analysis

Conclusion: Dietary supplements have a positive impact on hair density, terminal hair density, and blind doctor evaluations in patients with androgenetic alopecia, with good tolerability. They may serve as beneficial adjuncts or alternatives to conventional treatments. Future large-scale, high-quality RCTs are needed to verify these findings.

PubMed 41561175 ↗
Naunyn Schmiedebergs Arch Pharmacol · 2025 · Meta-analysis / systematic review
A systematic review of the traditional uses, chemistry, and curative aptitude of echinacoside-a phenylethanoid glycoside

Conclusion: Evident from its therapeutic efficacy, there is a huge potential for a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms of actions of ECH, which underscores the need for more research in this area. Thus, this review is a compendium of the latest literature to analyse the existing knowledge on ECH, encompassing its distribution, traditional uses, extraction, chemical constituents, biosynthesis, pharmacological activities, structure-activity relationship, and in silico studies, following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines.

PubMed 39361172 ↗
Front Nutr · 2021 · Meta-analysis / systematic review
Plant-Derived Food Grade Substances (PDFGS) Active Against Respiratory Viruses: A Systematic Review of Non-clinical Studies

Conclusion: Herbal teas such as guava tea, green and black tea, adlay tea, cistanche tea, kuding tea, licorice extracts, and edible bird nest extracts were also effective against respiratory viruses in vitro. The authors of this review recommend an increased consumption of foods rich in these PDFGS including legumes, fruits (e.g berries, citrus), tea, fatty fish and curcumin amongst human populations with high prevalence of respiratory viral infections in order to prevent, manage and/or reduce the severity of respiratory virus infections.

PubMed 33634160 ↗

Dosage people report

As stated by users — not a recommendation. Follow the label or your doctor.

210 mgdaily
2 gramsas reported
every morningas reported
200-300 mgdaily before bed
dailyas reported
almost every nightas reported

Reported side effects

How often each side effect came up across all reports.

drowsiness ×1irritability ×1aggression ×1fatigue ×1emotional blunting ×1

What users say

Verbatim quotes, shortened only — each links to the original discussion.

“TONS of herbs/supplements (ginseng, cistanche, epimedium, shilajit, ashwagandha, he shou wu, zinc, magnesium, omega 3s, creatine, etc) all improve cognition and libido.”
Source discussion ↗
“Testosterone boosting supplements (particulary Maca, Cistanche, Shilajit and Tongkat ali)”
Source discussion ↗
“anything that will lower stress and throw in some Tongkat Ali, Boron, Cistanche and Shilajit (no other sups will help at all likely)”
Source discussion ↗
“I think other dopaminergic compounds like Shilajit and Cistanche potentiate it”
Source discussion ↗
“sabroxy skull Cap extract and cistanche is a powerful stack”
Source discussion ↗
Top discussions (5)

Other options for libido

User data from public discussions; research from PubMed. Information only, not medical advice — talk to a doctor before starting, stopping or combining anything. Data updated October 2, 2026. How we rate