CORDYCEPS SINENSIS; The Most Powerful Herb from the Highest Mountains

Cordyceps is a mushroom growing wildly on the caterpillars in the high plateaus of China, Nepal, and Tibet. It is known as a powerful tonic which gives the body increased vitality and energy and has significant additional benefits, such as enhances blood flow and lowers cholesterol (look at Cordyceps, China's Healing Mushroom by Georges Halpern, MD, Ph.D. published by Avery Publishing Group, New York). This mushroom is believed by both traditional herbalists and many Western scientists to be one of the most potent and health improving herbs in the world.

Cordyceps belongs to the family of numerous mushrooms, which are, actually, parasitic organisms. The fruiting body of cordyceps looks like grass. That is why it is called Winter Worm - Summer Grass besides Deer Fungus, Caterpillar Fungus, and Aweto.

The discovery of cordyceps backs to more than 1500 years ago in the Himalayan mountains of Tibet. At that time, the lush meadows close to the snow line were covered with many flowering plants and grasses. The local herdsmen who liked this area for herding, gradually noticed that when their cattle and sheep chewed a particular grass, they became very strong. Even old yaks showed signs of being younger, and had increased natural vigor. Little did they suspect that this "grass" actually was a parasitic fungus which invades the body of caterpillars and eats the soft tissue. The "grass" part is the fruiting body of this mushroom.

Some traditional Chinese doctors started to gather them as medication for their patients. To their surprise, the grasses could cure several diseases which they did not previously have any cure. And so the medicinal powers of Cordyceps Sinensis were discovered. Its mysterious health effects were passed from one generation to another.

More than 1000 years later, in the Ming Dynasty, the emperor's court physicians studied the Cordyceps formula, and using their own experience and wisdom, improved on their usage. Cordyceps then became a respected traditional Chinese medicine drug but was available only for the Imperial Palace. The common people had no authorization to use Cordyceps. The Chinese named it Dong Chong Yia Cao, or "winter-worm, summer grass".

Nowadays cordyceps can be consumed by everyone. However, it is very expensive ($10 per gram) and difficult to buy in many parts of the world. It is because the collection of Cordyceps requires physical stamina and dedication; it grows at about 5000m elevation, must be harvested in the frigid rain of the monsoon season, and can only be identified with an eye held almost horizontal to the surface of the ground. For native people, when one kilogram of this freely available natural resource is worth over US$2,000, they people won't miss a chance to collect, even if collection means freezing temperatures and oxygen-poor air.

Therefore, because its difficulties, the cultivated forms of the fungus, grown on the soybeans, are the most popular and widely spread as its substitute. Many manufacturers use not Cordyceps Sinensis, but its substitutes (C. ophioglossoides, C. capita, and C. militaris) in their commercial preparations.

The Western world got acquainted with Cordyceps not so long time ago, mainly due to the works and research of Dr. Georges Halpern, a physician and professor emeritus with the University of Hong Kong, and the author of several books about this fungus.

THE FUNCTIONS OF CORDYCEPS
Dr. Georges Halpern and other scientists and herbalists confirm that the mushroom can:

- stimulate the immune system;
- cure sexual dysfunction in men;
- maximize body oxygen uptake;
- build muscles;
- improve kidney, liver, and lung functioning;
- provide anti-aging effect...
- Improving the cellular energy production;
- Enhancing the utilization of oxygen in the body;
- Increasing blood circulation, making oxygen and nutrients more rapidly available to all parts of the body.

Among the numerous species, Cordyceps Sinensis is the most famous due to its curing properties. Cordyceps was believed to be a cure-all herb, able to fortify all the body systems, providing anti-aging, immune boosting, and strength increasing effects. This mushroom was especially popular for its ability to improve male sexual function, working as an aphrodisiac. Its influence on the human organism was often compared to that of ginseng.

RESEARCH ON CORDYCEPS
Mice fed cordyceps and subjected to an extreme low oxygen environment, were able to utilise oxygen more efficiently (30-50% increase), better tolerate acidosis and hypoxia (lack of oxygen) and live 2-3 times longer than a control group.

In Chinese studies on elderly patients with fatigue, cordyceps-treated patients reported significant improvements in their level of fatigue, ability to tolerate cold temperatures, memory and cognitive capacity and sex drive. Patients with respiratory diseases also reported feeling physically stronger. Overall, the efficacy rate for cordyceps in alleviating fatigue in elderly subjects was 80-90%. In addition to its effects on energy levels – possibly due to the adenosine content of cordyceps, the mushroom extract can also induce sex steroid-like effects (in mice) – which may account for the increased libido reported by elderly subjects in several studies.

A recent small study presented at the American College of Sports Medicine annual meeting (1999), showed that a cordyceps-based supplement significantly increased maximal oxygen uptake and anaerobic threshold.

Studies carried out at Beijing Medical University of China and in Japan have shown a 64% success rate among men suffering from impotence, vs. 24% in the placebo group.

It is said that Cordyceps is safe to use even for a long period. Still, it is up to the consumers to decide, since many questions about the fungus remain open.

THE FACTS
Although cordyceps is well-known on curing many diseases, the mechanism of Cordyceps activity in the human body is not known. The fungus effects are connected with its components, which are classified as “host defense potentiators” (HDPs): polysaccharides, ophiocordin (an antibiotic compound), cordypyridones, nucleosides, bioxanthracenes, sterols, alkenoic acids, hemicellulose, triterpeniods, complex starches and exo-polymers. Special emphasis is made on two chemicals, which are believed to be active Cordyceps compounds: cordycepin (deoxyadenosine) and cordycepic acid (mannitol).Many scientists, though, are positive that combinations of the above mentioned ingredients are to produce the health benefits in humans and animals.

Research also shows that the greater the amount of Cordyceps taken, the more one can fight off bacterial and viral diseases. (Look at Cordyceps, China's Healing Mushroom by Georges Halpern, MD, Ph.D., published by Avery Publishing Group, New York).

More information about cordyceps can be found at:
http://www.kalahealth.com
http://www.chinese-herb.com
http://www.jcm.co.uk
http://environment.yale.edu/doc/3034/the_search_for_cordyceps_sinensis/