Cistanche Tubulosawight P E
Cistanche tubulosa plant extract is a concentrate prepared from the fleshy stem of Cistanche tubulosa, a leafless holoparasitic plant of the Orobanchaceae family that grows attached to the roots of Tamarix trees in the desert margins of Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia and Central Asia. The botanical authority is written Cistanche tubulosa (Schenk) Wight, which is the source of the Wight element in the trade name, and P.E. is the common abbreviation for plant extract.
Because the plant has no chlorophyll and draws its nutrition from its host, its chemistry is distinctive. The compounds quantified in commerce are phenylethanoid glycosides, principally echinacoside and acteoside, the latter also written verbascoside, accompanied by iridoid glycosides, oligosaccharides and betaine. Echinacoside is the dominant marker for Cistanche tubulosa, while the related species Cistanche deserticola carries a different ratio of the two, which is how the two raw materials are told apart analytically.
The extract is a brown to dark brown powder with a faintly sweet, slightly bitter taste. Phenylethanoid glycosides are freely water soluble, so the extract dissolves readily to a brown solution, and they are stable in acid but hydrolyse progressively under alkaline conditions and on prolonged heating, so formulation is held on the acid side of neutral and heat exposure is kept short.
We source bulk Cistanche Tubulosawight P E from top China manufacturers for our partners. The manufacturer is in Shaanxi. A smaller requirement can ship in a combined container with other ingredients.
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- Function
- Plant extract
Specifications
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Appearance | Brown to dark brown fine powder |
| Botanical Source | Cistanche tubulosa dried fleshy stem |
| Odour and Taste | Slight characteristic odour, faintly sweet then bitter |
| Identification | HPLC profile conforming to echinacoside and acteoside references |
| Total Phenylethanoid Glycosides | ≥ 30.0% (HPLC) |
| Echinacoside | ≥ 15.0% (HPLC) |
| Acteoside | ≥ 5.0% (HPLC) |
| Particle Size | ≥ 95% through 80 mesh |
| Loss on Drying | ≤ 5.0% |
| Total Ash | ≤ 8.0% |
| pH (1% solution) | 4.0 to 6.5 |
| Residual Ethanol | ≤ 0.5% |
| Lead | ≤ 2.0 mg/kg |
| Arsenic | ≤ 1.0 mg/kg |
| Cadmium | ≤ 1.0 mg/kg |
| Total Plate Count | ≤ 10,000 cfu/g |
| Yeast and Mould | ≤ 500 cfu/g |
| Escherichia coli | Negative in 1 g |
| Salmonella | Negative in 25 g |
Common Markets Grades
The reference specifications are quoted on total phenylethanoid glycosides by HPLC, commonly at 10, 20, 30, 50 and 80 percent, with echinacoside and acteoside reported separately since the ratio identifies the species. Ratio extracts at 4:1, 10:1 and 20:1 without a marker claim sit below these and are used in traditional formula work, and purified echinacoside at 90 percent and above is traded in small volumes as a reference and for high value formulations.
Species declaration is central to the specification, since Cistanche deserticola and Cistanche tubulosa are both traded under the common name and are not interchangeable in a standardised product. Wild harvested and cultivated material are distinguished, cultivation on planted Tamarix and Haloxylon stands having grown substantially as wild stocks came under pressure. Powders are sold carrier free or on maltodextrin at 80 mesh, with a granulated grade for tabletting. Because the raw material is expensive, adulteration with cheaper phenylethanoid sources is a recognised risk and buyers verify the full chromatographic profile rather than a single peak.
Applications
- Capsule and tablet supplements, the principal outlet, dosed on the declared phenylethanoid glycoside figure
- Male vitality and energy formulations, reflecting the plant's long standing position in Chinese practice
- Healthy ageing and cognitive support products, blended with other standardised botanicals
- Instant herbal granules and sachets, where the water soluble extract dissolves without residue
- Functional beverages and shots, formulated at mildly acidic pH to protect the glycosides
- Traditional Chinese formula preparations, in which the sliced stem has an established role
- Medicinal wines and spirit infusions, a traditional presentation in the producing regions
- Skin care serums and creams, added to the water phase for the antioxidant character of the phenylethanoids
- Sports and recovery blends, where the botanical is the differentiating claim
Brands Using Cistanche Tubulosawight P E
Widely-distributed consumer products that list Cistanche Tubulosawight P E on the ingredient label.
- Double Wood SupplementsCistanche Extract Capsules 500 mg ↗Capsule supplement built on Cistanche tubulosa stem extract standardised to at least 10 percent echinacosides and 1 percent acteosides, at 500 mg per two-capsule serving.Label verified 2026-08-31
- Nootropics DepotCistanche Ultra Potent Extract Tablets ↗Single-ingredient tablet of Cistanche tubulosa stem extract standardised to 50 percent echinacoside and 10 percent acteoside, 200 mg per tablet.Label verified 2026-08-31
Brand names, product names and logos are the property of their owners. They appear here as published evidence that the ingredient is used, taken from the brand's own label or website. Their appearance is not an endorsement, and it does not mean the brand buys from us or from any manufacturer listed on this site.
China Manufacturers of Cistanche Tubulosawight P E
Top Cistanche Tubulosawight P E manufacturers in China.
Company names and logos are the property of the manufacturers themselves. They are listed here because our own directory records them as producing this ingredient. A listing is not an endorsement by them, and we do not represent them or speak on their behalf.
Regulatory Status
In the United States, Cistanche stem and its extracts are marketed as dietary ingredients under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, with finished products manufactured under 21 CFR Part 111. Because the botanical was not widely present in the American food supply before 1994, suppliers commonly support the ingredient with a new dietary ingredient notification, and species identity is a documented control point given that two Cistanche species share the trade name.
In the European Union the extract is not an authorised food additive, so no E number applies. Cistanche has no established history of significant consumption within the Union before the novel food cut off date, so its use as a food or food supplement ingredient falls within the scope of the novel food regulation and requires authorisation before marketing. Health claims for the genus are unauthorised. Cistanche deserticola is listed on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, so material of that species requires export documentation, and buyers verify which species a consignment contains for that reason as well as for assay. Codex has no commodity standard for the extract and JECFA has issued no additive specification for it.
Manufacturing Process
Fleshy stems are harvested from beneath the sand in spring before the plant bolts, cleaned of sand and host root material, sliced and dried in warm air, sometimes after a brief salting or blanching step used traditionally to arrest enzymatic browning. Dried slices are graded and milled to a coarse powder.
Extraction is with hot water or with ethanol at 30 to 60 percent, both of which recover the phenylethanoid glycosides efficiently, with temperature and time controlled because the glycosidic bonds hydrolyse under prolonged heat. The liquor is separated from the marc by pressing and decanting, clarified by centrifugation and membrane filtration, and loaded onto a macroporous adsorption resin. Sugars, betaine, salts and the sand borne minerals pass through in the water wash, and the phenylethanoid fraction is recovered with aqueous ethanol. The eluate is concentrated under vacuum at low temperature with solvent recovery and spray dried, alone or onto maltodextrin. Purified echinacoside requires a further preparative chromatography step and crystallisation. The dried powder is sieved, assayed by HPLC, blended across sub lots and packed in double food grade liners inside fibre drums.
