a halophyte plant that grows in salt marshes, alkaline mudflats, dry river beds, and along the shores of salt lakes across Central Asia, the Caucasus, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Mongolia, and Northwest China. fleshy jointed stems, scale-like leaves, blue-green when young. built for extreme conditions.

used as fuelwood when dry, and industrially as a source of potassium.
extracts from the plant have strong insecticidal properties.

it's one of the rare plants that can stabilize and thrive on heavily saline soils that would destroy conventional crops, making it relevant for land reclamation on salt-degraded agricultural land.

seven flavonoids were isolated from the aerial parts. luteolin, chrysin, quercetin, isorhamnetin, and their glycosides. all showed broad antimicrobial activity against seven bacterial species and one fungal species, plus pronounced antioxidant activity.
the straight aglycone forms (unbound to sugars) hit harder than the glycoside versions. that matters for extraction — if you want maximum bioactivity, you want the free flavonoid forms, not the glycoside-bound versions that come with boiling.

nine additional secondary metabolites were isolated including betaine, diphenylamine, β-sitosterol, and multiple phenolic acids. the phenolic acids and diphenylamine were identified as the main bioactive components driving antimicrobial and antioxidant effects in the crude ethanol extract.

the compound that makes this plant uniquely interesting is halostachine. halostachine (N-methylphenylethanolamine) was first discovered in Halostachys caspica.
it's a naturally occurring alkaloid structurally related to epinephrine. it acts as a partial β2-adrenergic receptor agonist.
it's in the same chemical neighborhood as ephedrine and synephrine but structurally distinct and milder.
halostachine acts as a partial β-adrenergic agonist, stimulating receptors that increase heart rate, alertness, and thermogenesis. considered weaker than ephedrine but capable of producing mild stimulant effects — more focus, elevated energy expenditure, and possible appetite suppression. because halostachine mildly activates the sympathetic nervous system, it may increase calorie burn and fat oxidation, making it especially interesting for cutting phases.
currently showing up in sports supplements for its thermogenic and focus-enhancing profile — essentially a cleaner, plant-derived adrenergic stimulant.

an industrial source of potassium.