Variations of Active Ingredients and Antioxidant Activities Analysis of Cistanche deserticola from Different Breeds and Parts in Xinjiang Province

In this paper, the content of active ingredients and antioxidant capacity of different parts of Hoxylon and Red Willow Cistanche deserticola, from Hotan Cele County, Xinjiang, were evaluated. The results showed that the active substances, including total phenols, total flavonoids, total sugars, and verbascoside of Red Willow Cistanche deserticola, were the highest in the lower part of the plant, and decreased in the middle and upper parts. In terms of total phenols and total flavonoids, the contents of the lower part of Red Willow Cistanche deserticola (38.35 mg GAE/g DW, 35.61 mg RE/g DW) were 2.47 and 10.95 times compared to the lower part of Hoxylon Cistanche deserticola, respectively. The upper part of Hoxylon Cistanche deserticola showed the highest content of echinacoside with 92.93 mg/g DW. And the total triterpene content of the lower part-especially that of Hoxylon Cistanche deserticola was significantly higher than the upper and middle part (P<0.05), at 6.75 mg OAE/g DW. In addition, it was found that the antioxidant properties of both Hoxylon and Red Willow Cistanche deserticola were strong, and the highest antioxidant capacity was observed in their lower parts (IC_{50 DPPH}: 7.15 and 5.95 mg/mL; IC_{50 ABTS}⁺: 5.19 and 3.28 mg/mL, respectively). As shown in the correlation analysis, the contents of total polyphenols, total flavonoids, proanthocyanidins, total sugars, and verbascoside in Cistanche deserticola were negatively correlated with IC_{50 DPPH} and IC_{50 ABTS}⁺. The results demonstrated that the content of echinacoside was the most abundant in the upper part of Hoxylon Cistanche deserticola. And the lower part of Red Willow Cistanche deserticola was rich in total polyphenols, total flavonoids, total sugars and verbascoside, compared to the corresponding part of Hoxylon Cistanche deserticola. This paper lays the theoretical groundwork for the standardization and in-depth development of functional products derived from Cistanche deserticola from various regions.