The Mechanisms of Pharmacological Activities of Ophiocordyceps sinensis Fungi

The entomopathogenic fungus Ophiocordyceps sinensis, formerly known as Cordyceps sinensis, has long been used as a traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of many illnesses. In recent years its usage has increased dramatically because of the improvement of people's living standard and th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Phytotherapy research 2016-10, Vol.30 (10), p.1572-1583
Main Authors: Xu, Jin, Huang, Ying, Chen, Xiang-Xiang, Zheng, Shuai-Chao, Chen, Peng, Mo, Ming-He
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
bioactive components
Cordyceps - chemistry
Cordyceps sinensis
entomopathogenic fungus
functional mechanisms
Medicine, Chinese Traditional - methods
Ophiocordyceps sinensis
pharmacological functions
traditional Chinese medicine
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Summary:The entomopathogenic fungus Ophiocordyceps sinensis, formerly known as Cordyceps sinensis, has long been used as a traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of many illnesses. In recent years its usage has increased dramatically because of the improvement of people's living standard and the emphasis on health. Such demands have resulted in over‐harvesting of this fungus in the wild. Fortunately, scientists have demonstrated that artificially cultured and fermented mycelial products of O. sinensis have similar pharmacological activities to wild O. sinensis. The availability of laboratory cultures will likely to further expand its usage for the treatment of various illnesses. In this review, we summarize recent results on the pharmacological activities of the components of O. sinensis and their putative mechanisms of actions. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
ISSN:0951-418X
1099-1573
DOI:10.1002/ptr.5673