• Journal of Mushroom
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.7-12
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• 2022

The ascomycete fungus Cordyceps militaris infects lepidopteran insect pupae, forming characteristic fruiting bodies called "Dong Chung Ha Cho" in Korean. They have been used as medicines owing to their anti-allergic, anti-inflammatory, and immune-enhancing effects. This fungus can be grown on the geminated soybeans Rhynchosia nulubilis, which also contains several novel isoflavones. We performed a comparative transcriptome analysis to determine core gene sets or pathways contributing to biologically active products such as isoflavone. Initially, we sequenced 2-week-old fungal cultures on different soybean agar media, where different amounts of water agar were implemented to show different surface topology. We selected 830 upregulated and 188 downregulated genes by comparing linear models of the samples (two-fold change threshold). Gene ontology analysis identified that the "IMP biosynthesis" term was significantly found in the upregulated gene sets. The pathway is involved in the synthesis of cordycepin, the reference chemical for C. militaris. This finding in the transcriptome data is consistent with the previous observation: increased cordycepin concentrations in the C. militaris cultured on germinated soybean.

• Journal of Mushroom
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2024

Mushrooms play crucial roles as reservoirs of naturally occurring bioactive compounds. Among these, Cordyceps militaris is significant because of its well-established reputation for organoleptic excellence and positive health effects, which have led to its widespread commercialization. In contrast, the key properties of Paecilomyces variotii, an ectomycorrhizal symbiont, has received limited attention. In alignment with current research trends, the study of the mycelia and culture media of these mushrooms hold promise in identifying potential sources of valuable bioactive compounds. In the present study, we investigated C. militaris and P. variotii for their phenolic acids and sterols, assessing antioxidant capacity, anti-inflammatory effects, and anti-proliferative activity. Interestingly, P. variotii mycelia exhibited higher concentrations of ergosterol and phenolic compounds, with comparable levels observed in the fruiting bodies, along with superior antioxidant activity compared to that of C. militaris. In contrast, C. militaris mycelia demonstrated anti-inflammatory effects (which were absent in P. variotii mycelia) and cytotoxicity comparable to, and at times exceeding, that of its fruiting bodies (in contrast to P. variotii). In addition, the species analyzed in this study displayed variations in growth rates and mycelial production, which merit consideration for potential future applications and further study.

• 한국균학회소식:학술대회논문집
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• 2016.05a
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• pp.39-39
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• 2016

There is a growing consumer preference for self-medication, which has resulted in the growth of the Korean functional food market to \1.5 trillion in 2014. Functional foods that can modulate immune responses and enhance liver health are in the top 2 product-specific health functional food categories. The aim of this project was to develop and commercialize new health functional foods incorporated with Cordyceps militaris. Cordyceps genus includes about 400 species, many of which have been used as traditional medicines for many years in Asian countries. C. militaris belongs to the class Ascomycetes and has been used extensively as a crude drug and tonic food in East Asia. Owing to the various physiological activities of its main active constituent, cordyceptin, C. militaris is currently being used for multiple medicinal purposes. Recently, many studies have tried to elucidate the pharmacological mechanisms underlying the activities of Cordyceps spp., which include immune activation, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and antiviral effects. After continuous attempts and research toward industrialization, C. militaris cultivated using brown rice was developed into a product by a standardized process and mass-cultivating system. It was successfully introduced into the market and was approved as a functional food ingredient for the first time in Korea. Based on this information, C. militaris containing functional food product for strengthening the immune system was released in August 2014 under the brand name "Dongchoong Ilgi." Dongchoong Ilgi is potentially beneficial for improving immune and liver functions and may enhance both the convenience and effectiveness of health functional foods taken by healthy people and patients with minor illness. In addition, the results of our study may be applicable for the development of health functional foods that could lower the risk of diseases such as the common cold and cancer.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.29 no.8
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• pp.1212-1220
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• 2019

The study of metabolomics in natural products using the diverse analytical instruments including GC-MS, LC-MS, and NMR is useful for the exploration of physiological and biological effects and the investigation of drug discovery and health functional foods. Cordyceps militaris has been very attractive to natural medicine as a traditional Chinese medicine, due to its various bioactive properties including anti-cancer and anti-oxidant effects. In this study, we analyzed the metabolite profile in 50% ethanol extracts of C. militaris fruit bodies from three development periods (growth period, matured period, and aging period) using $^1H-NMR$, and identified 44 metabolites, which are classified as 16 amino acids, 10 organic acids, 5 carbohydrates, 3 nucleotide derivatives, and 10 other compounds. Among the three development periods of the C. militaris fruit body, the aging period showed significantly higher levels of metabolites including cordycepin, mannitol (cordycepic acid), and ${\beta}-glucan$. Interestingly, these bioactive metabolites are positively correlated with antitumor growth effect; the extract of the aging period showed significant inhibition of HepG2 hepatic cancer cell proliferation. These results showed that the aging period during the development of C. militaris fruit bodies was more highly enriched with bioactive metabolites that are associated with cancer cell growth inhibition.

• Mycobiology
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.228-232
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• 2020

Cordyceps is a genus of ascomycete fungi and is well known as one of the important medical fungi in Chinese, Korea, and other Asian countries, because of its various beneficial effects on human health. The pharmacological activities of Cordyceps extract are mainly focused on anti-cancer, anti-metastatic, and immune modulating effects. In the present study, we investigated whether the antiplatelet effect of ethanol extract of cultured Cordyceps militaris (CMEE) with FeCl₃-induced arterial thrombosis model. We observed that CMEE exhibited a significant inhibitory effect against ADP and collagen-induced platelet aggregation. However, there were no significant differences in prothrombin time (PT) and activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT). These results suggest that antithrombotic activity of CMEE is related to antiplatelet effect rather than anticoagulation effect, and CMEE may be a positive effect on improving blood circulation against vessel injury and occlusion.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2003

Three strains(CHO-7208, CHO-7845, CHO-7846) of the Cordyceps were used for mass production by artifical cultivation with Allomyrina dichotoma larva. The mycelium length of Cordyceps mititaris on PDA was grown to 25 ${\pm}$ 2mm(CHO-7208) and 26${\pm}$ 21mm(CHO-7845) and 16 ${\pm}$ 2mm (CHO-7846) for 13days cultivation. The larva of Allomyrina dichotoma reared with starch, wheat flour and rice. The best rear material were starch. The formation of fruitbody on media were possible with CHO-7208 and CHO-7846. The fruithbody length of CHO-7208 on A.dichotoma media were 51 ${\pm}$5mm for 27 days culture. And then fruitbody length of CHO-7846 on same media were 56${\pm}$ 5mm for 27 days culture. The larva of A.dichotoma media was excellent fruitbody formation of C. mititaris.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.109-117
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• 2001

Cordyceps militaris is a parasitic fungus that has been used as a Chinese medicine for the treatment of fatigue, debility, kidney disease, tuberculosis, asthma and cardiac insufficiency etc. This study was carried out to determine the antioxidative and antimutagenic effects of Cordyceps militaris using DPPH free radical donating method and Ames test, respectively. They were extracted with ethanol and then further fractionated to n-hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, butanol and water, stepwise. Among five fractions, the EtOAc and BuOH fractions showed the highest electron donating activities, about 2-fold higher than other fractions. In Ames test, most of the extracts had strong antimutagenic effects against the mutagenesis induced by N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine(MNNG), 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide(4NQO), benzo($\alpha$)pyrene(B($\alpha$)P) and 3-amino-1,4-dimethyl-5H-pyrido[4,3-b]indol (Trp-P-1). The EtOH extracts of C. militaris (200 $\mu\textrm{g}$/plate) showed 62.8%, 74.4% and 67.2% inhibitory effects on the mutagenesis induced by 4NQO, B($\alpha$)P and Trp-P-1, respectively, against TA98 strain, whereas 78.1%, 78.6%, 78.6% and 82.7% inhibition were observed on the mutagenesis induced by MNNG, 4NQO, B($\alpha$)P and Trp-P-1, respectively, against TA100 strain. Especially, the BuOH fraction showed the highest antimutagenic effects against mutation induced by MNNG.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.258-267
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• 2019

Purpose: Upper respiratory tract infections are major causes of the common cold throughout the world. Cordyceps militaris (C. militaris) is a well-known functional food for its anti-fatigue and immunomodulating activities. On the other hand, there are no reports on the protective effect against upper respiratory tract infections (URI). This study was a 12 week randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled trial in healthy volunteers. Methods: A total of 100 subjects 20 ~ 70 years of age with a history of at least two colds in the year were enrolled in the study. The participants were required to record any adverse events and rate any cold-related incidents in a diary during the investigation period. The efficacy end point was the symptoms and incidence of URI, and changes in cytokines, IgA and natural killer (NK) cell activity. Results: The Cordyceps militaris group over 12 weeks showed no significant impact on the incidence and symptomatology of URI compared to the placebo group. On the other hand, the experimental group showed significantly higher NK cell activity (p = 0.047) and IgA level (p = 0.035) compared to the placebo group. The NK-cell activity and IgA level were increased significantly by Cordyceps militaris over 12 weeks. Conclusion: The results suggest the possible beneficial immunomodulating effects, but the protective effects on URI could not be demonstrated under these conditions. Additional research will be needed to determine the efficacy and mechanisms of Cordyceps militaris function.

• 한국생물공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2001.11a
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• pp.359-362
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• 2001

Traditionally, Cordyceps species have been used as a part of herbal medicine in Oriental countries, including Korea a for intemal health, vigorosity and to cure different diseases related to heart, lung etc. In the recent years, research on artificial fruiting of different Cordyceps species including C. militaris has been carried out in the world because of their medicinal value. Variationas well as instability occur during artificial fruiting. Instability observed in the in vitro fruiting of C. militaris is reported in the present study.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.35 no.4 s.139
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• pp.364-367
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• 2004

Cordyceps militaris (CM) has been used as antidiabetics, anticancer, endocrine and sexual functions enhancement in the traditional medicine. Water soluble fractions of CM showed cytotoxic activities on the three kinds of human cancer cell lines, stomachic adenocarcinoma(SNU-1), colorectal adenocarcinoma (SNU-C4), and hepatocellular carcinoma(SNH-354). Cytotoxic activity guided isolation and identification of active fractions afforded cordycepin as an active component.