Cordyceps Militaris

Cordyceps Properties You Can't Ignore

It is a natural antibiotic that has anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects, improves blood circulation, and increases the body's defenses. It is used to treat infectious diseases, prevent cancer, and diseases of the respiratory tract and liver.

Militaris is excellent for relieving arthritis symptoms, helping to cure heart disease, controlling blood sugar levels, calming the nervous system, fighting fatigue and increasing energy levels.

Cordyceps militaris and its uses that you should know about

Cordyceps militaris is another interesting representative of the mushroom kingdom, which is not as simple as it seems at first glance. It is not used in cooking, but it hides amazing benefits for the human body. For this reason, Eastern medicine has been using it to treat diseases for several thousand years, and recently modern medicine has become interested in it.

What does the Cordyceps mushroom look like and what does it smell like?

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Military hypoxylon, military torrubia, xylaria - these are all names for cordyceps. The mushroom reaches 8 cm in height and 0.5 cm in width. You can easily recognize it by its color - rich gold or orange. It looks like a twig - single or branched at the base, and the fruit is shaped like a cylinder or a mace.

You won't smell or taste it - they are neutral, and the flesh is fibrous and light. The stem is lighter than the fruit body, its surface is warty with dark stomata.

Cordyceps is a parasitic fungus that chooses insect bodies for growth. It uses a caterpillar as its protective case - there it begins its development. Quite often, the fungus can be found on insect pupae buried in the ground in summer and autumn.

Cordyceps lives in pine and small-leaved forests, hiding in grass and bushes. You can find it in almost every part of the world - Africa, South and North America, European countries.

Chemical composition of cordyceps

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The detailed chemical composition of cordyceps has become known since official medicine became interested in the unique mushroom and its potential benefits for the human body. Let us dwell in more detail on those elements that are of particular value:

• polysaccharides - normalize blood sugar levels, activate the body's immune forces and protection against infectious, viral, parasitic diseases;
• amino acids - normalize protein synthesis and metabolism in general;
• enzymes - are responsible for catalyzing chemical processes in the body, promote the production and absorption of nutrients;
• phospholipids - transport cholesterol and fatty acids in the body;
• B vitamins and beta-carotene support the central nervous system and have a general strengthening effect.

The study of the effect of cordyceps on the human body continues. But even the information received about the composition is enough to claim the invaluable benefits that the mushroom can bring when used correctly.

Cordyceps and its medicinal properties, application in medicine:

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Ancient Chinese medicine used cordyceps to treat diseases, as a means of rejuvenation, general strengthening of the body or an aphrodisiac. Today, the list of indications has expanded and become more accurate and scientifically based. Adding microdosing cordyceps to your diet is useful for achieving the following goals:

• improving the cardiovascular system - adenosine in the mushroom protects the heart, strengthens blood vessels and reduces the level of “bad” cholesterol;
• to combat diabetes or prediabetes - cordyceps normalizes blood sugar levels by simulating the effects of insulin;
• in the process of fighting tumors - the mushroom is able not only to cope with some side effects during treatment, but also to stop the growth of cancer cells;
• to combat the inflammatory process in the body - by suppressing the growth of the protein that stimulates its development;
• treatment of the gastrointestinal tract, dysbacteriosis, use as a natural laxative;
• help in the treatment of asthma and pneumonia, normalization of the functioning of the respiratory organs and mucous membranes;
• help in stopping the development of liver cirrhosis;
• treatment of cystitis, pyelonephritis and other diseases of the genitourinary system;
• Helping HIV patients - as a natural immune booster without side effects.

And also:

• speeds up metabolism and helps eliminate toxins;
• general rejuvenation of the body, slowing down aging, increasing libido;
• help in the fight against exhaustion, improving memory and much more.

It is worth remembering that military cordyceps is a natural antibiotic that can fight infections such as streptococcus, pneumococcus and staphylococcus, including the most dangerous aureus.

#COVID19
A review of mushrooms with antiviral and immunomodulatory properties that effectively help fight COVID-19.

COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020, due to its widespread spread and high infection rate. Let me remind you that since December 2019, this severe disease was discovered in Wuhan and quickly spread throughout the world.
Extracts of medicinal herbs and mushrooms were used to develop antiviral drugs. Many natural extracts have been proven to be effective against strains of coronavirus, herpes simplex virus (HSV):

• Lion's Mane,
• Cordyceps Militaris,
• Agarik of Brazil,
• Maitake mushroom,
• Trametes versicolor.

Modified forms of beta-glucan have been shown to have a powerful effect on virus suppression and can be used for the treatment and prevention of new virus strains. The results of the studies show that terpenoids, lectins, glycoproteins, lentinan, galactomannan and polysaccharides of mushrooms are promising preventive or therapeutic agents against COVID-19.

Let's compare the chemical composition of the fruits and mycelium of Cordyceps Militaris:

This article presents the results of direct analysis (moisture, ash, protein, fat, carbohydrates and energy); study of biologically active compounds (cordycepin and ergothioneine); determination of fat and amino acid content; analysis of vitamins, macro- and microelements in the fruiting body (FB) and mycelial biomass (MB) of the medicinal mushroom Cordyceps militaris strain CBS-132098. The study showed that FB and MB of C. militaris are excellent sources of protein: the protein content is 59.8% in FB and 39.5% in MB. MB contains more carbohydrates (39.6%) than FB (29.1%). In FB of C. militaris, the amino acid content was found to be 57.39 mg/g, in MB - 24.98 mg/g. The quantitative determination of fatty acids revealed the main fatty acids: palmitic, oleic, linoleic and linolenic acids. The analysis of the micro- and macroelement composition showed the highest values for calcium (797 mg/kg FB; 11 mg/kg MB), potassium (15,938 mg/kg FB; 12,183 mg/kg MB), magnesium (4,227 mg/kg FB; 3,414 mg/kg MB), sodium (171 mg/kg FB; 1,567 mg/kg MB), phosphorus (7,196 mg/kg FB; 14,293 mg/kg MB) and sulfur (5,088 mg/kg FB; 2,558 mg/kg MB). The vitamin composition showed the presence of vitamin A, vitamin B3 and vitamin E. Biologically active components - cordycepin, cordycepic acid (D-mannitol) and ergothioneine - were also identified. Differences in the content of cordycepin and ergothioneine were found between FB and MB: the concentration of cordycepin in FB was 0.11%, in MB - 0.182%, cordycepic acid contained 4.7 mg / 100 g in FB and 5.2 mg / 100 g in MB, and the content of ergothioneine was 782.37 mg / kg in FB and 130.65 mg / kg in MB. The obtained information on the nutritional value of FB and MB C. militaris indicates the potential use of this mushroom as a balanced and biologically active product in nutrition.

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