Omnia SanaSymptom → Plant Sources
Cordyceps (Cordyceps militaris) and Cold & flu: evidence and sources
inferred from immunomodulator action
For educational purposes only, not medical advice. Always consult a qualified practitioner before using medicinal plants, especially alongside prescribed medication, during pregnancy, or for a serious condition.
Mechanistic basis
This use is associated with the plant's immunomodulator / immune support action. The evidence below supports that pharmacology:
Cordyceps militaris is a parasitic edible fungus and has been used as tonics for centuries. Polysaccharides are a major water-soluble component of C. militaris . Recently, C. militaris -derived polysaccharides have been given much attention due to their various actions including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, anti-hyperlipidemic, anti-diabetic, anti-atherosclerotic, and immunomodulatory effects. These bioactivities are determined by the various structural characteristics of polysaccharides including monosaccharide composition, molecular weight, and glycosidic linkage. The widespread use of advanced analytical analysis tools has greatly improved the elucidation of the structural characteristics of C. militaris -derived polysaccharides. However, the methods for polysaccharide structural characterization and the latest findings related to C. militaris -derived polysaccharides, especially the potential structure-activity relationship, have not been well-summarized in recent reviews of the literature. This review will discuss the methods used in the elucidation of the structure of polysaccharides and structural characteristics as well as the signaling pathways modulated by C. militaris -derived polysaccharides. This article provides information useful for the development of C. militaris -derived polysaccharides as well as for investigating other medicinal polysaccharides.
Cordyceps spp. mushrooms have a long tradition of use as a natural raw material in Asian ethnomedicine because of their adaptogenic, tonic effects and their ability to reduce fatigue and stimulate the immune system in humans. This review aims to present the chemical composition and medicinal properties of Cordyceps militaris fruiting bodies and mycelium, as well as mycelium from in vitro cultures. The analytical results of the composition of C . militaris grown in culture media show the bioactive components such as cordycepin, polysaccharides, γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), ergothioneine and others described in the review. To summarize, based on the presence of several bioactive compounds that contribute to biological activity, C. militaris mushrooms definitely deserve to be considered as functional foods and also have great potential for medicinal use. Recent scientific reports indicate the potential of cordycepin in antiviral activity, particularly against COVID-19.
The main component of Ophiocordyceps sinensis and Cordyceps militaris extracts are polysaccharides. These are natural biopolymers that represent a large class of biologically active components. These contribute to their pharmacological activity and effect on health. They contain monosaccharides that include rhamnose, ribose, arabinose, xylose, mannose, glucose, galactose, mannitol, fructose, and sorbose. The exopolysaccharide fraction has a large number of pharmacological effects, the two most important of which are immunomodulatory and antitumour. Among the contained polysaccharides is also mannoglucan, which shows weak cytotoxic activity against the SPC-I1) cancer cell line. More than ten nucleosides and their related compounds, including adenine, adenosine, inosine, cytidine, cytosine, guanine, uridine, thymidine, uracil, hypoxanthine, and guanosine, have been successively isolated from Ophiocordyceps sinensis. It contains many amino acids and polypeptides that are thought to affect the cardiovascular system. They also have a sedative and hypnotic effect, with tryptophan being the most effective component among them. Polysaccharides were extracted from four samples: sample 1 (grown on the substrate Oryza sativa indica, strain Ophiocordyceps sinensis), sample 2 (grown on the substrate Oryza sativa japonica, strain Ophiocordyceps sinensis), sample 3 (grown on the substrate Oryza sativa indica, strain Cordyceps militaris), sample 4 (grown on Oryza sativa japonica substrate, strain Cordyceps militaris). Through NMR spectroscopy and subsequent comparison with the literature, the majority of a chemical compound in deproteinized extracts 1 and 4 was found to be a hydrophilic polyglucan referred to as CBHP2).
Cordyceps militaris is a unique and precious medical fungus in Chinese Cordyceps, which has been widely used as the traditional medicines or as biocontrol agents against pests in China for centuries. Polysaccharides are one of bioactive constituents in Cordyceps militaris with a variety of biological activities, including immunomodulation, antioxidant, anti-tumor, and anti-aging activities, among others. However, natural Cordyceps militaris are very rare and expensive, most of literatures indicated that the polysaccharides were mostly extracted from artificially cultivated fungal fruiting bodies (intracellular polysaccharides) or mycelia fermentation broths (extracellular polysaccharides). Moreover, separation and purification of polysaccharides was a very complicated and cumbersome process. Nevertheless, a large number of polysaccharides were purified and its characterization was elucidated by structure and biological activities. However, the relationship between structure and activity of polysaccharides has not been well established. Therefore, this review detailed the recent advance in several aspects (i.e., extraction, isolation, structure, and bioactivities) of the polysaccharides from fruiting body of Cordyceps militaris. This information could provide theoretical basis for the research on related polysaccharides, and also have important reference value in the field of functional foods and medicine in the future.
Cordyceps militaris is a potential harborer of biometabolites for herbal drugs. For a long time, C. militaris has gained considerable significance in several clinical and biotechnological applications. Much knowledge has been gathered with regard to the C. militaris's importance in the genetic resources, nutritional and environmental requirements, mating behavior and biochemical pharmacological properties. The complete genome of C. militaris has recently been sequenced. This fungus has been the subject of many reviews, but few have focused on its biotechnological production of bioactive constituents. This mini-review focuses on the recent advances in the biotechnological production of bioactive compositions of C. militaris and the latest advances on novel applications from this laboratory and many others.