Description

Cordyceps Militaris Highlights: Known as a sexual tonic Used in Chinese medicine for over a thousand years Beneficial for athletic performance, aiding in oxygen uptake Immune support Contains Cordycepin, which is known for Boosting cell ATP, effectively increasing cellular energy What is Cordyceps Militaris? Cordyceps Militaris is an organism that is a combination of insect and fungus. Its lifecycle consists of its spores (ascospores) landing on a host, which it then colonizes and grows an orange club-shaped fruiting body from. You may be familiar with Cordyceps from video games or educational media, where it’s referred to as the “zombie” fungus. This is because in certain species of Cordyceps the fungus can take control of the host’s nervous system, making it move to a location that will increase its chances of reproduction. Don’t worry though! Cordyceps only affects insects and is not harmful to humans. Quite the opposite! Although, once you try our tincture, you may just find yourself preaching all the benefits to your family and friends! What are the health benefits and history of use? Cordyceps has been a staple of Traditional Chinese Medicine for over a thousand years. [1] It is a tonic, adaptogenic herb. Cordyceps Sinensis is the species typically used; which only grows at high altitudes in the Tibetan Himalayas and surrounding areas. Thousands of years ago yak farmers noticed that their livestock would seek out and eat this mushroom; which led to the yaks being able to travel farther into the lower oxygen higher altitudes. They also noticed that the yaks had a higher breeding rate. This no doubt led to its discovery as a sexual tonic or aphrodisiac. [2] As an educated consumer of Cordyceps you have to understand that although C. Sinensis is the most common species used, these mushrooms (technically, stroma) are not large and due to their limited distribution have become a highly-valuable resource; sometimes fetching thousands of dollars per pound. No wonder Cordyceps used to be reserved for Emperors only! This has led to research into techniques to try to cultivate C. Sinensis. However growing the fruit bodies has had limited success and still eludes skilled researchers. Many companies are selling Cordyceps extracts using a culture “CS-4” which is grown on grain. Not only is this product filled with starch from the grain used to grow it, but it’s not even the true C. Sinensis![3] After the hard work of many researchers, it was found that Cordyceps Militaris fruit bodies CAN be grown and actually contain MORE beneficial compounds than the wild C. Sinensis! [4] And since we use 100% fruiting bodies, our product doesn’t contain useless starch . Only wholesome Cordyceps Militaris extract! Our Cordyceps are grown using only vegan ingredients , so no bugs are used in their growth media. Cordyceps may help support energy through its compound Cordycepin. Essentially, Cordycepin may take the place of adenosine in the production of ATP (high school biology flashing back to you now?). Adenosine triphosphate is cellular fuel, and Cordycepin is 3’-deoxyadenosine. [5] Cordyceps supports energy production on a cellular level , so it’s no wonder it has such a positive systemic benefit. A whole book could be written on the research done on Cordyceps, but we encourage you to do your own research into this amazing fungus. Other scientific studies of interest: Cell Mediated Immunity: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26284906/ Breast Cancer Research: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32963576/ Immunomodulation: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33328984/ Anti-Fatigue Study in Mouse Model: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26351509/ An overall review of the potential health benefits of C. Militaris: Shrestha, B., Zhang, W., Zhang, Y. et al. The medicinal fungus Cordyceps militaris : research and development. Mycol Progress 11, 599–614 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11557-012-0825-y [1]Chinese Materia Medica : ISBN 13: 9781901149029 [2] https://www.florajournal.com/archives/2017/vol5issue2/PartB/5-6-1-889.pdf [3]Alfred Chioza, Shoji Ohga, “A Review on Fungal Isolates Reported as Anamorphs of Ophiocordyceps sinensis “, Journal of Mycology , vol. 2014, Article ID 913917, 5 pages, 2014. https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/913917 [4]Yu HM, Wang BS, Huang SC, Duh PD. Comparison of protective effects between cultured Cordyceps militaris and natural Cordyceps sinensis against oxidative damage. J Agric Food Chem. 2006 Apr 19;54(8):3132-8. doi: 10.1021/jf053111w. PMID: 16608242. [5]Determination and analysis of cordycepin and adenosine in the products of Cordyceps spp. Lei Huang, Qizhang Li, Yiyuan Chen, Xuefei Wang and Xuanwei Zhou* Plant Biotechnology Research Center, Fudan-SJTU-Nottingham Plant Biotechnology R&D Center, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, P. R. China.