Himalayan caterpillar mushroom Cordyceps sinensis

[Maïwa]

 From the vision-producing mushrooms the shamans used in their initiation rites to the mushroom hunter of northern Europe, mushrooms have always held a great fascination for man.

 Cordyceps sinensis, a medicinal mushroom with amazing potential, is a native of the high Himalayas, and has been known and used in China for  two thousand years. Since the natural range of this mushroom consists of only a small area in the high mountains of Tibet and Nepal, its price in world commerce has always been among the very highest of any raw medicinal feedstock.  Nearly three years ago Nepal restricted the harvest of wild Cordyceps, and since that time there has been a general shortage in markets throughout the world.

here's some interesting stuff I fell upon on this subject.
taken from:: http://www.asiabiolabs.com/pages/cordyceps.htm

Chinese Name: Dong Chong Xia Cao
Japanese Name: Tochukaso
Latin Name: Cordyceps Sinensis

Within the tradition of Chinese medicine, cordyceps have been used for centuries and is perhaps the most valued medicinal fungi in the entire Chinese medical pharmacopoeia. Due to it's rare nature, it was a priviledge reserved mainly for the Emperor and for the noble class. Having already been used for many centuries prior, the earliest text references to cordyceps began to appear in the early Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). For two thousand years, cordyceps was virtually unknown to the western world. Cordyceps first gained prominence in the West when it was learned that the 1993 record-breaking Chinese women's track team had been using it as a dietary supplement.

There are many types of cordyceps, but the type most prized for it's energizing and medicinal properties is Cordyceps Sinensis. Cordyceps is the dry complex composed of the sclerotium of the fungus Cordyceps Sinensis and the larva corpses of the insects on which the fungus is parasitic. It begins it's life cycle in the winter as a parasite in the larva of the bat moth. A blade-like leaf develops after fungal infestation of the dead caterpillar larva in the summer, creating something that appears to be half-caterpillar, half-mushroom. Actually, the vegetative growth has completely filled the caterpillar's entire body cavity as well, leaving only the skin. In total, it takes approximately 5-6 years for the fungus to fully mature and complete it's life cycle.

Cordyceps are collected in the summer and autumn, when the fungi has reached maturity. The Chinese refer to it as dong chong xia cao, which translates literally to "winter worm, summer grass." The highest quality cordyceps are found wild in the high steppes of western China above 14,000 feet. The highest quality cordyceps come from the regions of Qinghai and Tibet. Cordyceps from these regions can command as much as $6000 USD per kilogram. Due to the scarcity of the herb, techniques have been developed to cultivate various strains of cordyceps in the laboratory. In many instances, cultivated strains prove to be just as effective as the natural ones.

The herb has traditionally been used primarily to treat sexual disorders (especially impotence), strengthen the lungs and kidneys and improve overall health. It can be ground into a fine powder to be used as part of an herbal formula, or it can be mixed with foods. Recently, it has been used by athletes as an endurance and performance enhancer in a multitude of different sports. Cordyceps have even been used by endurance and thoroughbred race horses with amazing results. Cordyceps is particularly useful for professional athletes as it is an effective performance enhancer that is safe to take over the long term without acquiring harmful side-effects.



Major constituents

Scientific analysis conducted in laboratory settings have shown cordyceps sinensis to contain the following major consituents:

cordycepic acid; cordycepin; vitamin B12; crude protein 25~30%; amino acids (phenylalanine, proline, histidine, valine, oxyvaline, and arginine); glutamic acid; unsaturated fatty acids (oleic and linoleic acids); carbohydrates (d-mannitol); some nucleosides such as adenine, adenine nucleotide, uracil, thymine, hypoxanthine; also contains ergosterol, ergosterol peroxid; polysaccarides mainly composed of D-mannitose and D-galactose; contains cyclic peptides; inorganic elements such as P, Mg, Fe, Ca

Laboratory studies have further shown cordyceps sinensis to have the following effects:

    * immune system enhancer
    * anti-tumor properties
    * liver tonic (enhances function and repairs damange - has been used in the treatment of hepatitis and cirrhosis of the liver)
    * nerve tonic (relaxes the nerves without producing a feeling of grogginess)
    * relaxes the heart rate and causes short term lowering of blood pressure
    * reduces total cholesterol and triglyceride levels
    * has an inhibitive effect on platelet coagulation
    * has testosterone like effects on the body
    * bronchodilator
    * anti-aging properties

Am I eating a worm?

Although it appears to be a worm, it in fact is a plant. Cordyceps begins it's life cycle in the winter as a parasite on the larva of the bat moth. A blade-like leaf develops after fungal infestation of the dead caterpillar larva in the summer, creating something that appears to be half-caterpillar, half-mushroom. The growth includes not only the outer portion of the fungus, but also the inside, which has filled the caterpillar's entire body cavity, leaving only the skin. The body cavity has been replaced entirely by the vegetative growth.

The idea of deriving nutrition from insects is actually well established in many parts of the world. Insects are widely used as food in Africa, Asia, and South America. (People in Thailand eat so many insects the country imports them.) Many insects are high in protein, vitamins and minerals.

Cordyceps is sold in a variety of different forms. Chinese pharmacies often sell whole dried cordyceps, which can be added to soups and stews. One can make tea from cordyceps that's been ground into powder, or take it orally in capsule form. Asia Biolabs' Liquid Goldâ,,¢ is a concentrated liquid extract, sweetened with a small amount of honey and packaged in individual vials.


What is cordyceps used for?

The cordyceps herb is harvested and sold for its medicinal properties, which include strengthening respiratory function and physical stamina. In ancient times, only the Emperor and China's noble classes could afford the precious herb, whose remote location and high altitude made it difficult to harvest and therefore quite expensive. Today, cordyceps can be found in many Chinese pharmacies. They are dried and then bound together in bundles using bright red thread.


What evidence is there that cordyceps improves health?

The Chinese use cordyceps to improve the function of many of the body's organs and organ systems, and numerous clinical studies performed in China and elsewhere have proven cordyceps to be effective in treating a variety of health conditions:

    * Lungs
      Researchers at Japan's Meiji Institute of Health Science found cordyceps extract relaxed the airway muscles in rats, allowing them to take in more oxygen during periods of intense physical exertion. The Institute concluded that cordyceps increased ventilation during exercise might also prevent blood pressure from rising.

    * Kidney
      Cordyceps is traditionally classified as a kidney tonic in China, and clinical studies indicate it offers protection against kidney toxicity. In a clinical trial at Jinling Hospital in Nanjing, China, 52 patients suffering from fever or respiratory infections were divided randomly into two groups. One received an oral dose of cordyceps, the other a placebo. Both groups were given intramuscular doses of a mild kidney toxin. Subsequent tests showed patients in the placebo had developed greatly elevated signs of kidney toxicity, while the group on cordyceps had not.

    * Immune system and anti-tumor
      Studies show cordyceps wards off infection and disease by stimulating various cells of the immune system, including natural killer cells. In 1992, researchers at Hunan Medical University in Changsha, China found that cordyceps activated natural killer cells in animals and promoted significant anti-tumor activity. The scientists concluded cordyceps could be used to potentiate the immune systems of cancer patients and of patients with immune deficiencies, and might also be helpful in fighting chronic fatigue syndrome.

    * Cholesterol
      Cordyceps extract was tested for clinical benefits to patients with high cholesterol in a double blind, placebo-controlled trial using 245 patients at Beijing Medical University in 1990. Patients were given 330-milligram doses of cordyceps three times daily for two months. At the end of the study, levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL, or "good" cholesterol) were significantly higher in those on cordyceps than in those on the placebo, and total cholesterol levels fell among 61% in the cordyceps group but only 29% of the placebo group.

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  This is quite a fascinating fungi. There are sites,  that say the cultivation of these mushrooms is possible, would have to study further.
The elevation this element is found is intriguing, funny enough it helps against asthma ...

     Whiteshadow

[Avery L. Breath]

Cool!  Thanks for posting that.

[X. Torris]

I use Cordyceps sinensis in concert with a variety of other herbals on a daily basis.  I credit it, in part, for the fact that I haven't gotten even the slightest sniffle since fall of 2003 (knock on wood!)  

[Maïwa]

Nice X. Torris.
  This is no doubt a medicinal and very intriguing fungi,
especially the areas it's found. It's effects on asthma and the altitude that    it's found is truly remarkable..

   WS

[Stonehenge]

Interesting but slightly wierd. How easily can it be grown? Even at $6000 a kilo, you won't make much money on it unless you have a huge farm. If it takes years to mature it will be quite a project. It seems that environment plays a role also. If we could just grow the fungus in a big vat and extract the active ingredients, you might see it on your grocery shelf.

[Maïwa]

Indeed their are many ways to extract and cultivate this fungi,
the details are harder to find, here i give a good link to  this point:


taken from:http://www.nwbotanicals.org/nwb/lexicon/hybridcordyceps.htm
  MODERN CULTIVATION OF CORDYCEPS SINENSIS:

        Since native Cordyceps (wild Cordyceps sinensis) is rare and very expensive, there has been a lot of research into methods for cultivation of this fungus. The strain that is known as CS-4 was one of the first commercial strains of Cordyceps isolated in 1982 at the Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. Known by the Latin name of Paecilomyces hepiali Chen, the aseptically fermented mycelium of this strain underwent extensive human testing and clinical trials during the 1980’s and resulted in a commercial product with wide usage in China, known as JinShuiBao capsules. More than 2000 patients were involved in the clinical trials with CS-4 and the chemical composition, therapeutic activity and toxicity are very well known for this strain. (Bau, 1995)

        A number of other strains have been isolated from wild Cordyceps since then. These are each so different from the original starting Cordyceps and from each other that they are given many different Latin Genus/species names. Even though the parent fungus is the same in each case, the resultant asexual mycelial growth forms are characteristically different enough in taxonomy and chemistry that they are considered different species by many taxonomists.  Table 1 lists some of the different strains isolated from wild Cordyceps sinensis. (Yin and Tang 1995;  Zhao, Wang, Chen, Li and Qu, 1999)
        Table 1

Latin binomial
   

Isolated by
   

Commercial product
Cephalosporium sinensis
   

QingHai Institute of Livestock and Vetrinary sciences
   

NingXinBao

Paecilomyces sinensis Cn80-2
   

FuJianQingLiu County Hospital
   

various

Scydalilum sp.
   

Sanming Mycological Institute
   

SM1H8819

Scydalilum sp.
   

Chinese Navy Institute of Medicine
   

832
Hirsutella sinensis
        

various

Mortierella hepiali Chen Lu
        

various

Topycladium sinensis
        

various

Scytalidium hepiali G.L.Li
        

various

        ADULTERATED AND COUNTERFEIT CORDYCEPS SINENSIS:

        With the opening of China to business with Western countries in the 1970s, many people in countries far from China were exposed to the benefits found in TCM. Along with this exposure to the traditional medical methods came a great demand for the herbal medicines used in that medical system. The great demand worldwide for Cordyceps, and the enormous cost of the wild collected variety has led to many unscrupulous manufacturers and distributors providing adulterated and counterfeit Cordyceps in the world market. (Hsu, Shiao, Hsiea and Chang 2002) Most of the Western world prefers their medicine to come in clean white bottles and neat little capsules, rather than in the whole caterpillar form. This makes it even easier and more tempting for some suppliers to sell just about anything under the label of “Cordyceps”. In an attempt to identify what “real” Cordyceps was, we started analyzing all of the available Cordyceps, both commercial products and bulk raw material products, grown by nearly all of the cultivators and suppliers worldwide. What we found was shocking. Nearly all of the commercially available Cordyceps products available in the United States that were imported from China, contained no detectable amounts of Cordyceps whatsoever. The results of testing on American produced Cordyceps were a little better. In every case with American Cordyceps we were able to recognize the characteristic analytical signature of Cordyceps, but in none of the American samples was there any significant amount of active ingredients. The American grown Cordyceps products consisted almost entirely of unconverted grain substrate upon which the Cordyceps is grown.

        TEST METHODS AND STANDARDS OF QUALITY:

        The methods for analyzing Cordyceps quality have not yet become standardized throughout the world. Every lab that is conducting this type of testing uses their own methods and their own standards. So when we first began our analysis of Cordyceps in 1999, we had to develop our own test methods. We tried many different test protocols before settling on the following two, as being accurate, repeatable and relatively economical.

        GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY WITH MASS SPEC DETECTION (GC/MS):

        Trimethylsilyl Derivative Method: Starting with well dried and finely ground powder of the raw test sample, 20 mg is added to 0.3 ml of derivatizing agent (BSTFA) and 0.3 ml of acetonitrile. This mixture is heated for 20 minutes at 60 degrees C, which yields a Trimethylsilyl derivative, which carries the material through the GC for detection with a mass spectrometry detector. This test method is simple and quick, and it yields a yes or no answer as to whether the test sample is actually Cordyceps or not. This method can be used for quantification of the target compounds, although the next method is more accurate and more suitable for complete target compound quantification:

        HIGH PERFORMANCE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY / MASS SPEC DETECTION:

        Powdered samples (2.0g) were defatted by decanting with hexane (3 x 50ml) and dried in vaccuo. Samples were dissolved in 0.1M TBE (Tris-borate-EDTA) buffer (pH 8.5 with 0.1N NH4OH) (100ml) and sonicated for 30 minutes at 40°C. An aliquot (10ml) of the sample was then passed through a C-18 Sep-Pak that had previously been pre equilibrated with 0.1M TBE (Tris-borate-EDTA) buffer (pH 8.5 with 0.1N NH4OH). The eluent was collected, and the Sep-Pak further washed with the equilibration buffer to give a final eluent volume of 20 ml. After thoroughly mixing the sample was filtered through a 0.45 micron PVDF membrane and placed into suitable vials for HPLC-MS analysis. The chromatography was performed on a Waters 2695 separation module using a Wako Wakosil-II 5C18 HG column (5 mum, 15 cm * 4.6 mm i.d.) at 45°C with gradient elution of H2O:methanol (1 ml/min) from 22:3 to 77:23 in 19 min, then to 18:7 at 24 min and 27:23 at 39 min. The chromatographic eluent was passed into a Vestec particle-beam interface for solvent removal and particle atomization and then via Teflon transfer line into the mass spectrometer using a helium carrier gas. Detection was performed on a Finnigan TSQ7000 triple-quadrapole mass-spectrometer in positive ion mode with full scan centroid data collection (50-1000 m/z). MS-MS experiments using an argon collision gas were used to verify the identity of unusual nucleotides for which no primary standards were available.



 see full story here: http://www.nwbotanicals.org/nwb/lexicon ... dyceps.htm




  Cheers WhiteShadow

[Jacko]

There are some close to intro-basic liquid mycelium teks out there on the web related to the cultivation of this particular mushroom, no need for a natural parasitic host... so long as you'rve got a half assed sterile lab.

[Stonehenge]

But where would you get the mycelium culture or spores to start with? It sounds interesting but there are lots of interesting things to try. I'd like to hear from someone growing it, I know that.

[Jacko]

I've looked alll around for a culture dish and it seems that those who have cultures are not interested in sharing them.

[Stonehenge]

Has anyone here tried it and have they noticed any benefit? It may be like the 100 year old eggs or a few other foolish things that were handed down over centuries. Or it may be a hidden gem like acupuncture or many herbs that western scientists knew nothing about until they looked into eastern medicine.

[X. Torris]

I use Cordyceps sinensis in concert with a variety of other herbals on a daily basis. I credit it, in part, for the fact that I haven't gotten even the slightest sniffle since fall of 2003 (knock on wood!)