ghostwheel
May 16th, 2005, 11:12 PM
Date: July 30, 1999
Re: Adaptogenic Medicinal Fungus Appears Promising
Zhu J, Halpern G, and Jones K. Scientific Resiscovery of an Ancient Chinese Herbal Medicine: Cordyceps sinensis Part I. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. 4(3):289-303.
Cordyceps sinensis, or Chinese caterpillar fungus, has been used for centuries in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) as a tonic food and medicine. It received attention in the West only after several Chinese runners on a Cordyceps-containing diet established various world long-distance records in 1993. Extensive research in China in the last 20 years has uncovered the main effects of the fungus to be increased efficiency of oxygen-utilization, oxygen free-radical scavenging, antiaging, hypolipidemic, antiatherosclerotic and sexual function-restorative. This review article covers the role of Cordyceps in TCM, the drug's botany, physiology, and extensive clinical and pharmacological research are covered in Part I. Part II will dicuss the safety and clinical research on Cordyceps' use for diverse conditions.
According to TCM, Cordyceps is active in the organ systems of the "lung" and "kidney." The kidneys govern reproduction, development and maturation, so an abnormality related to these processes, such as impotence or retarded growth, is considered to be rooted in the kidney. The lung system, which includes the lungs, nose, throat and vocal chords, is responsible for distribution of air and chi (life energy). Abnormalities in its function can give rise to coughs, asthma and dyspnea. The kidney and the lung systems are considered to be intertwined, and disharmonies in one can be manifested in the other. Cordyceps is the medicament of choice for the treatment and prevention of respiratory and renal conditions. It is also used for immune system modulation, fatigue, night sweats, hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia, asthenia, arrythmias and other heart diseases.
Cordyceps is a parasitic fungus, growing primarily on the caterpillar of the moth Hepialus armoricanus Oberthur. The fungus infects the caterpillar in the fall and kills it by spring, when the fungal fruiting body protrudes from the caterpillar larvae head and the whole internal body of the insect has become hardened medicinal mycelium. The fruiting body is rare and difficult to cultivate, therefore a technique has been developed to ferment the fungal myce-
lia, whose pharmacologically active components are similar to those of the fruiting body. One such fermented product from Cordyceps sinensis (Berk.) Sacc. Is strain Cs-4, which available in capsule form, in China, as JinShuiBao, and has been approved for use by the Chinese Ministry of Public Health. Several other mycelial strains have been produced. All have been given unique Latin names because they are characteristically different enough from the parental fruiting body.
The active components of Cordyceps and its mycelial fermentation products have not been thoroughly elucidated but include cordycepic acid (which was found to be identical with d-mannitol) and possibly cordycepin (3'-deoxyadenosine).
Extensive clinical research has been performed with Cs-4 to see whether it influences physical performance, quality of life, aging, free-radical scavenging, sexual and endocrine function, blood lipid metabolism and atherosclerosis. Results of both preclinical and clinical studies are thoroughly presented in the paper.
Improvement of physical performance and quality of life
In preclinical studies, mice given Cs-4 (0.2 or 0.4 g/kg per day) for seven days had higher energy levels as evidenced by an increased ratio (45-55%) of adenosine triphosphate (ATP): inorganic phosphate compared to placebo, which returned to baseline seven days after treatment was discontinued. This result was paralleled in another mycelial fermentation product, strain SMIH8819. Administration of Cs-4 also reduced oxygen consumption by 30-36% in 20 minutes in mice treated with isoprenaline (stimulates oxygen consumption) compared to controls, and increased survival time in low-oxygen environments by two to three times (all p < 0.001). Mice with pulmonary edema treated with 6 g/kg Cs-4 had a 60% mortality rate compared with 100% for controls 90 minutes after treatment with epinephrine (p < 0.043).
Clinical studies with elderly patients recorded subjective improvements in fatigue, cold intolerance, dizziness, frequency of night urination, tinnitus, hyposexuality and amnesia. One study with respiratory patients using the herb Vitex negundo as a control found that 82.9% felt physically stronger as opposed to 40.2% of controls (p < 0.01). In chronic heart failure patients, long-term administration of Cs-4 alongside standard drugs such as hydrochlorothiazide and digoxin gave rise to significantly greater improvements in general physical condition, mental health, sexual drive and cardiac function than control patients receiving only standard drugs (p < 0.05 or better). These results suggest that Cs-4 allows better management of low oxygen and high energy demand conditions. Whether this effect is linked to enhanced physical performance and antifatigue effects is a subject of ongoing research.
Anti-aging and oxygen free-radical scavenging activity
Accumulation of excess oxygen free radicals that cause oxidative damage to cells is thought to be one of the contributing factors in aging. This excess is due in part to a decrease in the radical scavenging molecule superoxide dismutase (SOD). Placebo-controlled clinical studies showed that Cs-4 increased SOD activity in red blood cells of elderly patients (p < 0.001) to levels even higher than young adult controls. Additionally, levels of MDA, a measure of the oxygen free-radical species lipoperoxide, were significantly decreased (p < 0.001). The same patterns in SOD and MDA concentrations were seen in patients with chronic renal dysfunction and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). COPD patients also experienced a marked improvement in cough, phlegm, appetite, vitality and pulmonary symptoms.
A second factor influencing aging is the increase of monoamine oxidase-B (MAO-B), an enzyme which degrades neurotransmitters. Cs-4 significantly inhibited MAO-B when tested in rat brain homogenates (p < 0.01).
Effects on sexual function and endocrine systems
Cs-4 has been shown to have sex steroid-like effects in animals. Co-administration of Cs-4 (3 g/kg oral dose) with hydrocortisone (which causes atrophy of endocrine glands) prevented atrophy of the adrenal and thymus glands in mice. It also increased the weight of the testes and preputial glands (90%, p < 0.01) in premature male mice and uterine (43%, p < 0.01) and adrenal tissues (18%, p < 0.001) in premature female mice. The weight of the seminal vesicles increased by 41% in mice that had had their testes removed (p < 0.02). The same pattern was observed in rabbits, which also had threefold higher sperm counts than controls (p < 0.05).
In humans, Cs-4 administration (3 g/day) resulted in an 86% increase in libido for women and 67% for men, compared to 0% for placebo. It also improved impotence for 66% of men, compared to 23% for placebo (p < 0.001). The same pattern of increased libido was shown in four additional studies, and of decreased impotence in two additional studies. Increases in steroid hormones in the urine have also been observed. Another study showed increased sperm count (+ 33%), increased survival rate of spermatozoa and decreased incidence of malformed spermatozoa. These results suggest that Cs-4 acts via sex hormone systems or by directly affecting the sexual center of the brain.
Effects on blood lipid metabolism and atherosclerosis
Studies suggest that Cs-4 can regulate the metabolism of blood lipids, control hyperlipidemia and act against the formation of atherosclerosis. Preclinical studies with rats recorded an approximately 50% decrease in serum total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG) and low density lipoproteins (LDL), and a 35% increase in high density lipoproteins (HDL) (all p < 0.001) after one week of treatment. These results were closely paralleled in two additional studies. Cs-4 was also shown to interrupt formation of plaque in the aorta and inhibited thrombosis.
Further research has begun to elucidate the hypolidemic mechanism of Cordyceps. In one study, Cs-4 treatment caused incorporation of 14C into cholesterol to be reduced by half, while fecal discharge of 3H-neutral cholesterol administered by mouth remained the same, indicating that Cs-4 blocks cholesterol biosynthesis but does not affect its absorption or excretion. A second study found that a decrease in TG was accompanied by an increase in free fatty acids (a breakdown product of TG). These results could be mimicked in the control group by artificially inducing lipoprotein lipase, an enzyme that causes the breakdown of TG into free fatty acids, suggesting that Cs-4 activates lipoprotein lipase. A 45-kd protein, CS-F30, has been purified and shows hypolipidemic activity.
In humans, a clinical trial of patients with hyperlipidemia found a 26% reduction in TG and a 30% increase in HDL after one month of treatment. These trends were paralleled in three additional studies with treatment times of two months. - Risa N. Schulman, Ph.D.
Re: Adaptogenic Medicinal Fungus Appears Promising
Zhu J, Halpern G, and Jones K. Scientific Resiscovery of an Ancient Chinese Herbal Medicine: Cordyceps sinensis Part I. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. 4(3):289-303.
Cordyceps sinensis, or Chinese caterpillar fungus, has been used for centuries in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) as a tonic food and medicine. It received attention in the West only after several Chinese runners on a Cordyceps-containing diet established various world long-distance records in 1993. Extensive research in China in the last 20 years has uncovered the main effects of the fungus to be increased efficiency of oxygen-utilization, oxygen free-radical scavenging, antiaging, hypolipidemic, antiatherosclerotic and sexual function-restorative. This review article covers the role of Cordyceps in TCM, the drug's botany, physiology, and extensive clinical and pharmacological research are covered in Part I. Part II will dicuss the safety and clinical research on Cordyceps' use for diverse conditions.
According to TCM, Cordyceps is active in the organ systems of the "lung" and "kidney." The kidneys govern reproduction, development and maturation, so an abnormality related to these processes, such as impotence or retarded growth, is considered to be rooted in the kidney. The lung system, which includes the lungs, nose, throat and vocal chords, is responsible for distribution of air and chi (life energy). Abnormalities in its function can give rise to coughs, asthma and dyspnea. The kidney and the lung systems are considered to be intertwined, and disharmonies in one can be manifested in the other. Cordyceps is the medicament of choice for the treatment and prevention of respiratory and renal conditions. It is also used for immune system modulation, fatigue, night sweats, hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia, asthenia, arrythmias and other heart diseases.
Cordyceps is a parasitic fungus, growing primarily on the caterpillar of the moth Hepialus armoricanus Oberthur. The fungus infects the caterpillar in the fall and kills it by spring, when the fungal fruiting body protrudes from the caterpillar larvae head and the whole internal body of the insect has become hardened medicinal mycelium. The fruiting body is rare and difficult to cultivate, therefore a technique has been developed to ferment the fungal myce-
lia, whose pharmacologically active components are similar to those of the fruiting body. One such fermented product from Cordyceps sinensis (Berk.) Sacc. Is strain Cs-4, which available in capsule form, in China, as JinShuiBao, and has been approved for use by the Chinese Ministry of Public Health. Several other mycelial strains have been produced. All have been given unique Latin names because they are characteristically different enough from the parental fruiting body.
The active components of Cordyceps and its mycelial fermentation products have not been thoroughly elucidated but include cordycepic acid (which was found to be identical with d-mannitol) and possibly cordycepin (3'-deoxyadenosine).
Extensive clinical research has been performed with Cs-4 to see whether it influences physical performance, quality of life, aging, free-radical scavenging, sexual and endocrine function, blood lipid metabolism and atherosclerosis. Results of both preclinical and clinical studies are thoroughly presented in the paper.
Improvement of physical performance and quality of life
In preclinical studies, mice given Cs-4 (0.2 or 0.4 g/kg per day) for seven days had higher energy levels as evidenced by an increased ratio (45-55%) of adenosine triphosphate (ATP): inorganic phosphate compared to placebo, which returned to baseline seven days after treatment was discontinued. This result was paralleled in another mycelial fermentation product, strain SMIH8819. Administration of Cs-4 also reduced oxygen consumption by 30-36% in 20 minutes in mice treated with isoprenaline (stimulates oxygen consumption) compared to controls, and increased survival time in low-oxygen environments by two to three times (all p < 0.001). Mice with pulmonary edema treated with 6 g/kg Cs-4 had a 60% mortality rate compared with 100% for controls 90 minutes after treatment with epinephrine (p < 0.043).
Clinical studies with elderly patients recorded subjective improvements in fatigue, cold intolerance, dizziness, frequency of night urination, tinnitus, hyposexuality and amnesia. One study with respiratory patients using the herb Vitex negundo as a control found that 82.9% felt physically stronger as opposed to 40.2% of controls (p < 0.01). In chronic heart failure patients, long-term administration of Cs-4 alongside standard drugs such as hydrochlorothiazide and digoxin gave rise to significantly greater improvements in general physical condition, mental health, sexual drive and cardiac function than control patients receiving only standard drugs (p < 0.05 or better). These results suggest that Cs-4 allows better management of low oxygen and high energy demand conditions. Whether this effect is linked to enhanced physical performance and antifatigue effects is a subject of ongoing research.
Anti-aging and oxygen free-radical scavenging activity
Accumulation of excess oxygen free radicals that cause oxidative damage to cells is thought to be one of the contributing factors in aging. This excess is due in part to a decrease in the radical scavenging molecule superoxide dismutase (SOD). Placebo-controlled clinical studies showed that Cs-4 increased SOD activity in red blood cells of elderly patients (p < 0.001) to levels even higher than young adult controls. Additionally, levels of MDA, a measure of the oxygen free-radical species lipoperoxide, were significantly decreased (p < 0.001). The same patterns in SOD and MDA concentrations were seen in patients with chronic renal dysfunction and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). COPD patients also experienced a marked improvement in cough, phlegm, appetite, vitality and pulmonary symptoms.
A second factor influencing aging is the increase of monoamine oxidase-B (MAO-B), an enzyme which degrades neurotransmitters. Cs-4 significantly inhibited MAO-B when tested in rat brain homogenates (p < 0.01).
Effects on sexual function and endocrine systems
Cs-4 has been shown to have sex steroid-like effects in animals. Co-administration of Cs-4 (3 g/kg oral dose) with hydrocortisone (which causes atrophy of endocrine glands) prevented atrophy of the adrenal and thymus glands in mice. It also increased the weight of the testes and preputial glands (90%, p < 0.01) in premature male mice and uterine (43%, p < 0.01) and adrenal tissues (18%, p < 0.001) in premature female mice. The weight of the seminal vesicles increased by 41% in mice that had had their testes removed (p < 0.02). The same pattern was observed in rabbits, which also had threefold higher sperm counts than controls (p < 0.05).
In humans, Cs-4 administration (3 g/day) resulted in an 86% increase in libido for women and 67% for men, compared to 0% for placebo. It also improved impotence for 66% of men, compared to 23% for placebo (p < 0.001). The same pattern of increased libido was shown in four additional studies, and of decreased impotence in two additional studies. Increases in steroid hormones in the urine have also been observed. Another study showed increased sperm count (+ 33%), increased survival rate of spermatozoa and decreased incidence of malformed spermatozoa. These results suggest that Cs-4 acts via sex hormone systems or by directly affecting the sexual center of the brain.
Effects on blood lipid metabolism and atherosclerosis
Studies suggest that Cs-4 can regulate the metabolism of blood lipids, control hyperlipidemia and act against the formation of atherosclerosis. Preclinical studies with rats recorded an approximately 50% decrease in serum total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG) and low density lipoproteins (LDL), and a 35% increase in high density lipoproteins (HDL) (all p < 0.001) after one week of treatment. These results were closely paralleled in two additional studies. Cs-4 was also shown to interrupt formation of plaque in the aorta and inhibited thrombosis.
Further research has begun to elucidate the hypolidemic mechanism of Cordyceps. In one study, Cs-4 treatment caused incorporation of 14C into cholesterol to be reduced by half, while fecal discharge of 3H-neutral cholesterol administered by mouth remained the same, indicating that Cs-4 blocks cholesterol biosynthesis but does not affect its absorption or excretion. A second study found that a decrease in TG was accompanied by an increase in free fatty acids (a breakdown product of TG). These results could be mimicked in the control group by artificially inducing lipoprotein lipase, an enzyme that causes the breakdown of TG into free fatty acids, suggesting that Cs-4 activates lipoprotein lipase. A 45-kd protein, CS-F30, has been purified and shows hypolipidemic activity.
In humans, a clinical trial of patients with hyperlipidemia found a 26% reduction in TG and a 30% increase in HDL after one month of treatment. These trends were paralleled in three additional studies with treatment times of two months. - Risa N. Schulman, Ph.D.