What is Cordyceps Sinensis?
Also recognized in Chinese as Dong Chong Xia Cao (winter worm, summer grass), cordyceps sinensis is a parasitic fungus that is discovered in caterpillars, particularly that of the moth Hepialus armoricanus Oberthur, which inhabit about six inches underneath the surface of the land. The fungus infects the caterpillars in late autumn and ultimately changes the host caterpillar tissue, emerging its fruiting body atop the land the following summer. This fruiting body and the fungus below the land are hoarded for curative purposes.
For years, Chinese have applied cordyceps sinensis as a energizer and herbal medicine in reviving the general health of the human body. Initially recorded in the Chinese New Compilation of Materia Medica (Ben Cao Cong Xin) by Wu-Yiluo over the Qing Dynasty (1757), cordycep sinensis is also expended in healing the lungs and kidneys. In Conventional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the lungs and kidneys are considered as essential organs that serve as the source of the Qi (energy) and the Jing (essence) of life. By upholding the stability and health of these two organs, according to TCM, every organ in the body will then control amicably at optimum operation, which is why cordyceps sinensis is a prized mushroom in Conventional Chinese Medicine.
Health Advantages
Even though cordyceps sinensis is recognized in Eastern medicine, it only received attention in Western medicine in 1993 when Chinese female runners defeated quite a few world long-distance records (1,500 to 10,000 meters) by improving their physical functioning and endurance with unique diet composed of cordyceps. Since then much investigation and many assessments have been done on the herb, confirming its nourishing properties. According to the Department of Biochemistry of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, cordyceps sinensis include a cycle of chemical elements, predominantly cordycepin, ergosterol, polysaccharides, a glycoprotein and alpha-aminoisobutyric acid peptides. Cordycepin contributes to anti-tumor and antibacterial action, whereas polysaccharides account for the antiinflammatory, antioxidant, anti-tumor, immunomodulatory, hypoglycaemic and hypolipidaemic action. Ergosterol in cordyceps sinensis is also anti-tumor and prompts a robust Immune System Support.
Antioxidant Power
According to one medical trial presented in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, patients treated with cordycep sinensis exhibited a proliferation of superoxide dismutase (SOD) in their bodies after 30 days of therapy, culminating in free radical scavenging ability that lowered oxidative cellular destruction. Cordyceps sinensis’s antioxidant properties have also confirmed to be efficient to cholesterol. Its polysaccharide contents help offer potent shield as well, aiding us to fight the body against the growth of cholesterol on the walls of arteries.
Intense Strength
Cordyceps sinensis is frequently recognized in TCM for its power inducing property. According to investigation at Kyoto University, Japan, cordyceps sinensis heightens blood-flow rate in the body, which simulates a high-energy state. This study associated cordyceps sinensis with the boost of hepatic energy metabolism in the body when provided with the mushroom. Aside from influencing blood-flow rate, cordyceps sinensis also affects the method oxygen is disbursed in our body. In a related research at Stanford University School of Medicine, California, the mushroom was obtained to encourage the organs in the body get by a state of hypoxia, the inadequacy of oxygen in the blood. The mushroom aids the body manage its oxygen supply more efficiently by sustaining the crucial physiological activities of organs and tissues, and in doing so, causes the body to be more benevolent of hypoxia, resulting in the enhancement of physical capability, stamina and anti-fatigue responses.
Renal Defense
Scientific analysis have established that cordyceps sinensis could enhance kidney functions, protecting it from mutilation caused by nephrotoxic chemicals. Trial conveyed that the state of patients with chronic renal failure bettered in as little as 30 days. As a matter of fact, a remarkable restoration of renal tubular cells was derived in subjects provided with cordyceps sinensis. A experiment published in Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation reports that three grams of cordyceps sinensis per day is enough to defend the kidney to cyclosporine-instigated nephrotoxicity. The study, made on 69 kidney transplant patients, suggested cordyceps sinensis as a catalyst in the reduction of cyclosporine caused renal toxicity, hence defending the kidney to nephritis.
Manipulate Blood Sugar
Experts from the University of Macau, China, derived that the isolated polysaccharide, CSP-1, from cordyceps sinensis has a strong antioxidant movement and hypoglycemic effect on diabetics. CSP-1 resulting to a considerable drop in blood glucose in all the subjects examined. CSP-1 decreases plasma blood glucose and is also known to boost the activity of glucokinase, a liver enzyme is liable for decreasing inner sugar production and regulating the liver’s sugar processing function.
Immune Booster
Cordyceps sinensis is also used in TCM to cure incapacity, principally for the elderly, because it triggers pro-inflammatory consequences in macrophages, energizing the immune defense system versus strange cells in the body. Furthermore, it prevents us from acquiring Poor Immune System.
This anti-inflammatory mechanism sets off the body’s retort versus systemic lupus erythematosus in humans, thus shielding the body in contrast to lupus and other autoimmune diseases.
Widely expended in TCM, cordyceps sinensis is starting to acquire popularity in western medicine caused by its multi-medicinal properties proven successful in giving remedy to health diseases linking to the immune system, raging cell growth, metabolism, blood sugar level and renal activities. Once only affordable by the Chinese majestic family, this fungus is now more obtainable to clients who are beginning to be more knowledgeable and well-informed in its benefits and health improving properties.
All About the Author
Edwin Sproat Jr is ardently adherent to having perfect health. If you need to get valuable immune system help, unite with Ed and the rest of the Eexceller users as they enjoy the benefits of following the teachings of Nutritional Immunology. Keep up a healthy mind and body by incorporating the vital goal of Nutritional Immunology. Find out more by visiting the Eexceller site.
