BAX and ovarian dysfunction: Liu et al.[53] found that Cistanche can reduce follicular atresia and apoptosis by regulating sex hormone levels and inhibiting the expression of TNF-α and IFN-γ in rats, thus slowing down ovarian failure; Cistanche can also upregulate Bcl-2/Bax, suggesting that Cistanche has an inhibitory effect on POF, and the mechanism may be related to ovarian sex hormone levels, TNF-α, IFN-γ, and apoptosis-related protein Bcl-2/Bax expression.