THE SCIENTIFIC REDISCOVERY OF AN ANCIENT CHINESE HERBAL MEDICINE - CORDYCEPS SINENSIS PART I

This review presents Cordyceps sinensis (Berk.) Sacc., a fungus highly valued in China as a tonic food and herbal medicine. The extant recor ds show the continued use of C. sinensis is now centuries old. The maj or chemical, pharmacological, and toxicological studies on C. sinensis and the various derived, cultured, fermented mycelial products curren tly in use are reviewed from the English and Chinese literature. precl inical in vitro and in vivo studies and clinical blinded or open-label trials in to date over 2000 patients are reviewed. These studies show the main activities of the fungus in oxygen-free radical scavenging, antisenescence, endocrine, hypolipidemic, antiatherosclerotic, and sex ual function-restorative activities. The safety of the fungus, its eff ects on the nervous system, glucose metabolism, the respiratory, hepat ic, cardiovascular, and immune systems, immunologic disease, inflammat ory conditions, cancer, and diseases of the kidney will be reviewed in the second part of this article to be published in the winter issue o f this journal.