ESSENTIAL NOTES ON THE ‘ENERGY MUSHROOM”
Cordyceps is a well-known medicinal mushroom rich in natural active biomolecules such as beta-glucans, ergosterol or provitamin D, essential amino acids, linoleic and linolenic acid and other vitamins and minerals. Its high cordycepin content, together with the cordycepic acid and adenosine contained in Cordyceps, make it a unique energising formula with high therapeutic value and of great interest in scientific research. The extensive traditional uses of this medicinal mushroom have led scientists in general and our R&D team to study it intensively in the following areas:
- Musculoskeletal system: fatigue and tiredness in osteoarthritis and sport as well as muscle development.
- Reproductive-sexual health: libido, potency and sex hormones (also linked to the endocrine system).
- Metabolic-endocrine system: hormone regulation.
- Integrative support: studies on its activity in combination with conventional treatments and its effect on quality of life.
Other: immunology and respiratory system (lung function)
Cordyceps is also known as ‘Tibetan Viagra’ because of its “potential in areas such as fertility and libido in both men and women”. Hence it is also used in traditional Asian medicine as a “sexual invigorator and reproductive enhancer”. To find out more, check out these 10 must-know facts about Cordyceps sinensis.
PROPERTIES, USES AND APPLICATIONS OF CORDYCEPS
PROPERTIES, USES AND APPLICATIONS OF CORDYCEPS
Linked to its energising properties, popular tradition has used it as “an aid in cases of fatigue, oxygenation, muscular development, fertility, lack of libido, impotence and as a powerful antiviral”. For years, scientific studies have confirmed its multiple benefits.
C. sinensis is not a common mushroom that can be consumed like Boletus or Shiitake. Instead it is consumed like turkey tail or Chaga, mainly as a concentrated extract (Mico-Cord), in powder form (Cordy-Sin Sport) or dehydrated and ground as it has a very hard consistency. It is traditionally used as a seasoning for soups, meat stuffing or as an addition to stews and vegetables.
Like other medicinal mushrooms, Cordyceps powder is also prepared as an infusion and/or used as a superfood such as Cordyceps Vital, an organic superfood for preparing healthy recipes such as a revitalising smoothie.
However, the highest concentration of active properties of Cordyceps is in extract form, which can be obtained with sustainable technologies, without denaturing its compounds, concentrating the active biomolecules of its composition for a better use of its properties.
PRODUCTS WITH CORDYCEPS
£262.00
£262.00
£250.00
£45.85
£228.00
NUTRIENT HIGHLIGHTS
NATURAL CORDYCEPIN
ALA Y AL:
ADENOSINE
CORDYCEPIC ACID
MINERALS:
ERGOSTEROL
VITAMINS:
HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION
MYCOLOGICAL NOTES
Cordyceps sinensis, along with Reishi and Lion’s Mane, is one of the most popular natural remedies in traditional Asian medicine. According to the FAO’s Edible Wild Mushrooms – A Global Perspective on their Use and Importance to People, this mushroom is “eaten” solely for its health benefits. It grows naturally on the high plateaus of Tibet and has been intensively harvested for years in parts of China, Bhutan and Nepal.
In fact, the economic importance of Cordyceps is enormous, especially in Tibet. Parts of the population are fully dedicated to the collection of wild specimens and are therefore dependent on the development of the mushroom population. It is estimated that the collection and sale of Cordyceps accounts for 20-30% of Tibet’s agricultural products.
CORDYCEPS CULTIVATION
Highest quality, purity and perfomance in our production systems
Through our own quality standards, we identify biomolecules and active ingredients with therapeutic actions, selecting the fungal strains that contain the optimum amounts, and use our own specific analytical systems to apply analysis protocols at different stages of production. Thanks to this rigorous system, we offer natural products, supplements and nutraceuticals with the Hifas Quality System guarantee, setting us apart from other products in terms of quality, safety and efficacy.
Highest quality, purity and performance in our production systems.
Through our own quality standards, we identify biomolecules and active ingredients with therapeutic actions, selecting the fungal strains that contain the optimum amounts, and use our own specific analytical systems to apply analysis protocols at different stages of production. Thanks to this rigorous system, we offer natural products, supplements and nutraceuticals with the Hifas Quality System guarantee, setting us apart from other products in terms of quality, safety and efficacy.
CORDYCEPS R&D AND STUDIES
- Hifas da Terra and OAFI Foundation (Osteoarthritis Foundation International) demonstrated in an observational study in humans the joint benefit of supplementation with Mico-Cord and Mico-Five. The results of this study were presented at the 3rd International Congress of Osteoarthritis Patients, organised by @OAFIFoundation and held in Barcelona in 2019.
- A study conducted by Hifas da Terra with the University of Pavia (Italy) in 2012 showed that consumption of our Cordyceps is able to modulate and reduce overtraining syndrome (OTS) in cyclists.
FUN FACTS
- Cordyceps made headlines in the 1990s as a legal doping product for top Chinese athletes. Chinese athletes broke world records at the World Athletics Championships in Stuttgart and the National Games in Beijing. Then the whole world discovered Cordyceps as a superfood.
- The ‘energising properties’ of this mushroom are linked to Tibetan pastoralism. With the arrival of spring and the first thaws, shepherds would take their livestock up to the high mountain areas to feed them. After ingesting the brown herb (Cordyceps), the yaks, goats and sheep were stronger and more robust and behaved in a similar way to the rutting season. Thus, the first medicinal uses of Cordyceps were related to improving reproductive capacity and vitality.
- Some species of Cordyceps (Cordyceps militaris) also grow in our latitudes. C. militaris is also produced by biotechnology and, once dried, is often added to soups and stews. Its components are very similar to those of C. sinensis. However, in order to know what they are and their concentration, we must buy quality products with standardised labelling.
- Rossi P, Buonocore D, Altobelli E, et al. Improving Training Condition Assessment in Endurance Cyclists: Effects of Ganoderma lucidum and Ophiocordyceps sinensis Dietary Supplementation. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2014;2014:979613.
- Jung, SJ., Jung, ES., Choi, EK. et al. Immunomodulatory effects of a mycelium extract of Cordyceps (Paecilomyces hepiali; CBG-CS-2): a randomized and double-blind clinical trial. BMC Complement Altern Med 19, 77 (2019).
- Ashraf, S. A., Elkhalifa, A. E. O., Siddiqui, A. J., Patel, M., Awadelkareem, A. M., Snoussi, M., … & Hadi, S. (2020). Cordycepin for health and wellbeing: A potent bioactive metabolite of an entomopathogenic medicinal fungus Cordyceps with its nutraceutical and therapeutic potential. Molecules, 25(12), 2735.
- Chen, Y. C., Chen, Y. H., Pan, B. S., Chang, M. M., & Huang, B. M. (2017). Functional study of Cordyceps sinensis and cordycepin in male reproduction: A review. journal of food and drug analysis, 25(1), 197-205.
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- Zhonghua Nan Ke Xue, Luo-Na Zhao 1, Yong-Ping Zhang 1, Ming Liu 1, Xiao-Gang Liao 2, Li Gao 2. 2018 Jul;24(7):627-634. [Substitution of cordyceps cephalosporium mycelia for cordyceps sinensis in the prescription of Shengjing Capsules: Enhanced effect on spermatogenesis impairment] [Article in Chinese].
- Jordan JL et al. (2008) Immune activation by a sterile aqueous extract of Cordyceps sinensis: mechanism of action. Immunopharmacology and Immunotoxicology 30, 53-70.
- Fung CK et al. (2012) Cordyceps Extracts and the major ingredient, cordycepin: possible cellular mechanisms of their therapeutic effects on respiratory disease, Capítulo 1 en Respiratory Diseases, Mostafa Ghanei (Ed.) InTech.
- Lin, W-‐H. et al. (2007) Improvement of Sperm Production in Subfertile Boars by Cordyceps militaris Supplement. Am. J. Chin. Med. (AJCM), 35(4): 631-‐41.
- Illana Esteban C. Cordyceps sinensis, a fungi used in the Chinese traditional medicine. Rev Iberoam Micol. 2007 Dec 31;24(4):259-62.
- Huang BM, Hsiao KY, Chuang PC, Wu MH, Pan HA, Tsai SJ. Upregulation of steroidogenic enzymes and ovarian 17beta-estradiol in human granulosa-lutein cells by Cordyceps sinensis mycelium. Biol Reprod. 2004 May;70(5):1358-64. doi: 10.1095/biolreprod.103.022855. Epub 2004 Jan 7.
- Huang BM, Hsu CC, Tsai SJ, Sheu CC, Leu SF. Effects of Cordyceps sinensis on testosterone production in normal mouse Leydig cells. Life Sci. 2001 Oct 19;69(22):2593-602. doi: 10.1016/s0024-3205(01)01339-x. PMID: 11712663.
- Zhang DW, Wang ZL, Qi W, Zhao GY. The effects of Cordyceps sinensis phytoestrogen on estrogen deficiency-induced osteoporosis in ovariectomized rats. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2014;14:484. Published 2014 Dec 13. doi:10.1186/1472-6882-14-484
- Manabe N, Azuma Y, Sugimoto M, Uchio K, Miyamoto M, Taketomo N, Tsuchita H, Miyamoto H. Effects of the mycelial extract of cultured Cordyceps sinensis on in vivo hepatic energy metabolism and blood flow in dietary hypoferric anaemic mice. Br J Nutr. 2000 Feb;83(2):197-204.
- Xiao Li 1 2, Fen Wang 1, Qing Liu 1 2, Quanping Li 3, Zhengming Qian 3, Xiaoling Zhang 1, Kuan Li 1, Wenjia Li 3, Caihong Dong 4 Developmental transcriptomics of Chinese cordyceps reveals gene regulatory network and expression profiles of sexual development-related genes.
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- Hsu CC, Huang YL, Tsai SJ, Sheu CC, Huang BM. In vivo and in vitro stimulatory effects of Cordyceps sinensis on testosterone production in mouse Leydig cells. Life Sci. 2003 Sep 5;73(16):2127-36.
- Hu Z1, Lee CI, Shah VK, Oh EH, Han JY, Bae JR, Lee K, Chong MS, Hong JT, Oh KW. Cordycepin Increases Nonrapid Eye Movement Sleep via Adenosine Receptors in Rats. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2013;2013:840134.
- King RW, Zecher M, Jefferies MW. Inhibition of the replication of a hepatitis C virus-like RNA template by interferon and 3′-deoxycytidine. Antivir Chem Chemother. 2002 Nov;13(6):363-70.
- Yoshikawa, N et al. (2011). Cordyceps sinensis Acts as an Adenosine A3 Receptor Agonist on Mouse Melanoma and Lung Carcinoma Cells, and Human Fibrosarcoma and Colon Carcinoma Cells. Pharmacol Pharmacy. 2, 266-270.
- Guo, Y-Z. (1986) Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Pharmacology and Clinical effects of Cordyceps Fungus and its preparations (Jin Shui Bao). Jour. Modern Diagnostics Therapeutics. 1:60-65.