Cordyceps Militaris Mushroom (Caterpillar fungus)
Cordyceps is a parasitic fungus that includes over 400 different species which are found all over the world.
Cordyceps seem to be all the rage right now. You see it in every adaptogen and pre-workout supplement. It’s being talked about extensively in the mushroom community and is one of the top superfoods.
This fungi can be grown on supplemented hardwood like one of our easy to inoculate grow kits.
(Below is some of the science showing the health benefits gained from these mushrooms.)
Medicinal uses of the mushroom Cordyceps militaris: Current state and prospects
Evidence showed that the active principles of C. militaris are beneficial to act as:
| anti-inflammatory | anti-oxidant/anti-aging | anti-tumour/anti-cancer/anti-leukemic |
| anti-proliferative | immunomodulatory | anti-microbial |
| pro-sexual | anti-metastatic | anti-bacterial |
| anti-viral | insecticidal | anti-fungal |
| anti-protozoal | larvicidal | anti-fibrotic |
| steroidogenic | hypoglacaemic | hypolipidaemic |
| anti-angiogenetic | anti-HIV | anti-fatigue |
| anti-diabetic | anti-malarial | neuroprotective |
| liver-protective | reno-protective | pneumo-protective |
as well as their other synergistic activities, which let it be marketable in the western countries as over-the-counter medicine.
Anticancer Efficacy of Cordyceps militaris Ethanol Extract in a Xenografted Leukemia Model
These results confirmed that cultivated C. militaris exhibited anticancer activity similar to other natural products such as Korean red ginseng and wild ginseng [14, 15, 23].
Different Cordyceps species have been studied to elucidate pharmacological activity including:
- anti-inflammatory,
- antioxidant,
- antifungal, and anticancer activity.
Cordyceps sinensis species inhibits growth of:
- U937 leukemia,
- A549 lung cancer, and B16 melanoma cells [24–26].
Cordyceps militaris inhibits growth of HepG2 liver hepatocellular carcinoma cells [5].
Therefore, previous results indicate that Cordyceps species have potent anticancer activity against diverse cancer types including: leukemia, melanoma, lung carcinoma, and liver carcinoma.
Out in nature they typically infect other insects and arthropods.
Cordyceps spores will land on the insect and then the spore will germinate and hyphae will begin to grow inside the insect and turn into mycelium. The mycelium will continue to consume the insect from the inside and when the insect is fully consumed and the environmental conditions are correct, a blade-like mushroom (fruiting body) will be produced from the insect’s head. The mushroom will then release spores and the life cycle will start over.