Cordyceps extract health benefit, supplement dosage,
safety, side effects and benefit for immune system and medical diseases
Cordyceps sinensis, a Chinese tonifying herb, has been
widely used for centuries in Asian countries as a medicine and a health
supplement. There is good evidence that cordyceps sinensis has an influence on
immune responses.
Traditional uses
Cordyceps sinensis is commonly used to replenish the kidney and soothe the lung,
and for the treatment of fatigue. It also can be used to treat conditions such
as night sweating, low sexual desire, high blood sugar, high cholesterol or
blood lipids, asthenia after severe illness, respiratory disease, renal
dysfunction, renal failure, arrhythmias and other types of heart disease and
liver disease.
A caterpillar and a fungus
Cordyceps sinensis is a parasitic complex of fungus and caterpillar, which has
been used for medicinal purposes for centuries particularly in China, Japan and
other Asian countries. Cordyceps is an ascomycete fungus that grows on the
Lepidopteron insect. Several mycelia strains have been isolated from natural
Cordyceps and manufactured by fermentation technology, and are commonly sold as
health food products. In addition, some substitutes such as Cordyceps militaris
and adulterants also have been used; therefore, quality control of Cordyceps
sinensis and its products is very important to ensure its safety and efficacy.
Purchase Cordyceps supplement 450 mg, 120 Tablets
In China, Cordyceps sinensis is recognized as
a premier tonifier. Full Spectrum Cordyceps 450 provides the same
amount of cordyceps CS-4 extract (standardized to 0.1% adenosine) used in
clinical studies. This is combined with cordyceps mycelia, grown on organic
brown rice form spores originally gathered in the Himalayas. This
combination insures a full spectrum of important cordyceps constituents.
Suggested Use: One cordyceps tablet a few times a week, or as
recommended by your health care professional.
Purchase Cordyceps supplement product or receive a Free
nutritional healing newsletter
Availability as a supplement
There are hundreds of cordyceps supplements sold in the US and many more in
China and Asian countries. They each may have slightly or moderately different
chemical compositions. The ideal dosage for daily intake or for the treatment of
a health condition is not yet clear due to a paucity of human clinical trials.
Cordyceps sinensis Mycelia CS-4 - 600 mg, standardized extract (0.1% adenosine)
Cordyceps sinensis Mycelia - 300 mg
Cordyceps Mycellium (Cordyceps sinensis) 500 Milligrams
Common names
Common names for cordyceps preparations include DongChongXiaCao in Chinese, and
winter worm summer grass in English.
Composition
Cordyceps has many bioactive components including 3'-deoxyadenosine, cordycepic
acid, cordyceps polysaccharides, and aurantiamides named cordyceamides A and B.
The main nucleosides include thymine, adenine, adenosine and
cordycepin.
Species of cordyceps
Cordyceps species are used medicinally in China. All Cordyceps species are
endoparasitoids, mainly on insects and other arthropods. A few are parasitic on
other fungi. Common medicinal species include:
C. sinensis
C. militaris - Cordycepin is a major bioactive component of Cordyceps militaris,
along with citrostadienol, tetracosanoic acid 2, 3-dihydroxypropyl ester,
ergosterol, ergosterol peroxide, adenosine, N-(2-hydroxyethyl) adenosine
C. pruinosa
C. ophioglossoides
Studies, research and health benefits
Effect on endurance exercise
This fungus supplement does not seem to have an effect on endurance.
Cordyceps Sinensis (CordyMax Cs-4) supplementation does
not improve endurance exercise performance.
Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2004 Apr; Parcell AC, Smith JM, Schulthies SS,
Myrer JW, Fellingham G. Human Performance Research Center at Brigham Young
Uninversity, Provo, UT 84602, USA.
It is purported that supplementation with Cordyceps Sinensis (CordyMax Cs-4)
will improve oxidative capacity and endurance performance. The intent of this
investigation was to examine the effects of CordyMax Cs-4 supplementation on
VO<(2peak,) ventilatory threshold, and endurance performance in
endurance-trained cyclists. Twenty-two male cyclists participated in 5 weeks of
supplementation with CordyMax Cs-4 tablets (3 g/d). VO(2peak) was similar within
and between placebo and treatment (CS) groups prior to and following the
supplementation period. Five weeks of CordyMax Cs-4 supplementation has no
effect on aerobic capacity or endurance exercise performance in
endurance-trained male cyclists.
Effects of a commercial herbal-based formula on exercise
performance in cyclists.
Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2004 Mar; Earnest CP, Morss GM, Wyatt F, Jordan AN, Colson
S, Church TS, Fitzgerald Y, Autrey L, Jurca R, Lucia A. Center for Human
Performance and Nutrition Research, The Cooper Institute Center for Human
Performance and Nutrition Research, Dallas, TX 75230, USA.
We examined the effects of a commercially marketed herbal-based formula
purported to increase endurance on oxygen consumption in 17 competitive category
amateur cyclists.: Each cyclist was given three treatment capsules contained
1000 mg of Cordyceps sinensis (CS-4) and 300 mg Rhodiola rosea root extract as
the primary ingredients; 800 mg of other ingredients included calcium pyruvate,
sodium phosphate, potassium phosphate, ribose, and adenosine and 200 mcg of
chromium. A 2-wk ingestion schema of a commercial herbal-based formula is
insufficient to elicit positive changes in cycling performance.
Lupus nephritis
Study on effect of Cordyceps sinensis and artemisinin in preventing recurrence
of lupus nephritis
Zhongguo Zhong Xi Yi Jie He Za Zhi. 2002 Mar; Lu L. Department of Nephrology,
Second People's Hospital of Guilin, Guangxi 541004.
To observe the effect of Cordyceps sinensis and artemisinin in preventing
recurrence of lupus nephritis. Sixty-one lupus nephritis patients, who had no
activities by corticosterone and cyclophosphamide impacting therapy were
randomly divided into two groups. The 31 cases in the treated group were given
Cordyceps powder 2-4 g/d before meal and artemisinin 0.6 g/d after meal in three
portions orally taken for 3 years. The 30 patients in the control group were
treated with tripterygiitotorum and/or Baoshenkang tablet. Cordyceps and
artemisinin could prevent the recurrence of lupus nephritis and protect kidney
function.
Safety and side effects
No major cordyceps side effects have been mentioned in the medical literature.
Cordyceps militaris
Breast cancer treatment potential
Induction of apoptosis by aqueous extract of Cordyceps militaris through
activation of caspases and inactivation of Akt in human breast cancer MDA-MB-231
Cells.
J Microbiol Biotechnol. 2008 Dec; Department of Biomaterial Control (BK21
Program), Dongeui University Graduate School and Department of
Biochemistry,Dongeui University College of Oriental Medicine, Busan 614-052,
Korea.
Cordyceps militaris is well known as a traditional medicinal mushroom and has
been shown to exhibit immunostimulatory and anticancer activities. In this
study, we investigated the apoptosis induced by an aqueous extract of C.
militaris (AECM) via the activation of caspases and altered mitochondrial
membrane permeability in human breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells. Exposure to AECM
induced apoptosis, as demonstrated by a quantitative analysis of nuclear
morphological change and a flow cytometric analysis. Our results indicate that
AECM-induced apoptosis may relate to the activation of caspase-3 and
mitochondria dysfunctions that correlate with the inactivation of Akt.
Rheumatoid arthritis
Cordycepin inhibits IL-1beta-induced MMP-1 and MMP-3 expression in
rheumatoid arthritis synovial fibroblasts.
Rheumatology (Oxford). 2009 Jan; Department of Biochemistry, Institute for
Medical Science, Chonbuk National University Medical School, Jeonju, South
Korea.
MMP is a key enzyme in the degradation of extracellular matrices, and its
expression plays important roles in inflammatory diseases. Cordycepin (3'-deoxyadenosine),
a bioactive compound of Cordyceps militaris, has been shown to exhibit many
pharmacological activities, such as anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory and
anti-infection activities. Cordycepin is a potent inhibitor of IL-1beta-induced
chemokine production and MMP expression and strongly blocks the p38/JNK/AP-1
signalling pathway in RASFs.