• Journal of Sericultural and Entomological Science
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.116-121
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• 2012

Cordyceps and its allies fungi has been described as a secret medicine that gives eternal youth and a long life. Some species of Cordyceps are sources of biochemicals, such ascordycepin, with interesting biological and pharmacological properties. Hence, it has been studied to uncover its pharmacological effect. We attempted to study the formation of fruiting bodies and to develop means of mass production Korean isolate of Paecilomyces tenuipes has been inoculated into silkworms, where it reproduced using culture container, mini-kit successfully. Culture container, mini-kit is composed of a cylinder-shaped body and lid. The container is made of translucent polyethylene terephthalate. The size of the container is $82{\times}75mm$, reduced by 10 times as compared with the conventional culture kit. The mini kit has many advantages - high culture amount, ability of maintaining optimal humidity, parasite-free cultivation and high-end appearance. With the kit, the optimal cultivation condition is under $22^{\circ}C$, culture period of 53 days. And synnemata of P. tenuipes could be kept fresh for 14 days at the temperature of under $10^{\circ}C$. Therefore, the Min-kit can be used in both ways as a culture container and a packing kit for end-user customers.