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Review | Open Access

Cordyceps industry in China

Caihong Donga, Suping Guob, Wenfeng Wangc, Xingzhong Liua( )
State Key Laboratory of Mycology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No 3 Park 1, Beichen West Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100101, China
Bioengineering Laboratory, Shanxi Research Institute for Medicine and Life Science, Taiyuan 030006, China
Research and Development Department, Jiangsu Shenhua Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Huaian 211600, China
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Abstract

Cordyceps, as a general term, describes a group of ascomycetous fungi growing on arthropods and other related fungi. Some cordyceps have been used in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries and cordyceps-derived products are currently a big industry in China. A number of medicinal and health products have been developed and extensively commercialized from natural Chinese cordyceps, its anamorphic fungus (Hirsutella sinensis), and other fungi known as Chinese cordyceps. The lack of a defined classification system for medicinal cordyceps fungi is a source of confusion in the industry and the public, and even among pharmaceutical scientists. This review summarizes the cordyceps fungi currently used in the industry in China with a special reference to clarify Chinese cordyceps and associated fungi. Cordyceps militaris, Cordyceps guangdongensis and Isaria cicadae are well recognized and commercialized cordyceps fungi in China. Except the natural Chinese cordyceps and its anamorphic fungus, Paecilomyces hepiali, Mortierella hepiali, Cephalosporium sinensis and Clonostachys rosea isolated from natural Chinese cordyceps are classified as Chinese cordyceps–associated fungi. P. hepiali is a cordyceps fungus based on current phylogenetic analysis of Hypocreales, while M. hepiali is a fungus in the Zygomycetes and should only be treated as associated fungus of Chinese cordyceps. C. sinensis and C. rosea belong to the Hypocreales and their relationship to cordyceps fungi should be further studied. The exploitation of the resources of cordyceps fungi and their quality control in the industry should be major topics for future studies. Cooperation between the industry and the research community will enhance the whole cordyceps industry.

Keywords

cordycepsindustryChinese cordycepscordyceps fungusChinese cordyceps–associated fungi

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Mycology
Volume 6 Issue 2,
June 2015
Pages 121-129
DOI: 10.1080/21501203.2015.1043967
Cite this article:
Dong C, Guo S, Wang W, et al. Cordyceps industry in China. Mycology, 2015, 6(2): 121-129. https://doi.org/10.1080/21501203.2015.1043967

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Received: 08 February 2015
Accepted: 20 April 2015
Published: 21 May 2015
© 2015 Mycological Society of China

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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