As a Chinese medicinal material with a profound cultural heritage, the development of Cistanche has far-reaching cultural influence. Cistanche was once one of the three major tonics in China, as famous as ginseng and deer antlers. This status highlights its importance and preciousness in traditional Chinese medicine culture.

In ancient times, Cistanche was regarded as a tonic with magical effects, and its name itself carries a mysterious and noble color.

There is a legend that mentions that in 1190 AD, there was a brave warrior named Temujin, who led his army to fight the enemy in the desert, but unfortunately encountered difficulties and was trapped in the desert. Faced with the threat of hunger and thirst, the situation was critical. At this time, a divine horse appeared, jumped into the Haloxylon ammodendron forest in the desert, and dug out a magical plant with its hooves-Cistanche. After eating Cistanche, the soldiers quickly recovered their strength, successfully broke through, and finally won the victory. This story gives Cistanche the cultural connotation of tenacity, vitality, courage, and wisdom.

As one of the tributes in ancient times, the rarity and preciousness of Cistanche made it a symbol of power and status. Cistanche is not only a precious Chinese medicinal material, but also a cultural symbol, a cultural bond connecting China and the countries in the Western Regions, and witnessing the prosperity of the ancient Silk Road and the exchange of multicultural cultures. This also provides some clues and fun for its application and dissemination today.

In recent years, the processing industry of Cistanche has developed rapidly. According to the information on health foods approved by the China Food and Drug Administration, there are about 70 kinds of domestic and imported health foods containing Cistanche as raw materials; the health food products with Cistanche as the main raw material mainly include wine, tea, tablets, granules, capsules, oral liquid, etc.

Many medicinal and edible products can be paired with Cistanche, such as American ginseng, wolfberry, Cornus officinalis, safflower, Ganoderma lucidum, sea buckthorn, Polygonatum, spiny jujube seeds, jujube, cassia seed, etc.

Traditional processing methods of Cistanche include soaking, roasting, boiling, cooking, steaming, thin slicing, and fresh use; most of the soaking materials are wine, such as sake, shochu, ash-free wine, etc., and some are soaked in water and rice water. The slices are thin. The processing time includes soaking in wine overnight, soaking in wine for three days, steaming with wine, boiling, etc.

Since it was approved as a medicine and food, some convenient food dosage forms have appeared on the market. For example, the Cistanche supplement single-serve sachets  launched by Herbfields.net

This Herbfields Cistanche series has the following advantages:

• Safety: Food-grade materials are used to make the packaging.
• Convenience: Single-serving packaging bags are easy to carry and use, and suitable for taking out.
• Hygiene: Because it is disposable, it reduces the risk of Cistanche and is more hygienic.
• Freshness: Sealed packaging helps the freshness and taste of Cistanche.
• Controlling the portion: The amount of each portion is fixed (3g/stick), which helps control the intake of Cistanche and avoid waste.
• Reducing waste: Because the amount of each portion is moderate, the waste of Cistanche can be reduced.
• Easy to store: Single-serving packaged food takes up little space and is easy to store.