Cordyceps, also known as Cordyceps, Cordyceps, and Cordyceps sinensis, is a complex of ergomyces fungi parasitic on the larvae of insects in the bat moth family and the corpse of the larvae. Cordyceps has a variety of effects and functions:
Nourish the lungs and kidneys: Cordyceps is a good tonic for the lungs and kidneys, which can replenish deficiency, benefit essence and qi, and have the effect of rejuvenating yang and impotence. It is often used for symptoms such as impotence, sperm loss, waist and knee pain, self-sweating, night sweats, and asthma caused by kidney yang deficiency, lung qi and yin deficiency, and loss of sperm and blood.
Protect the kidneys: Cordyceps has the effect of protecting the kidneys by anti-aminoglycoside acute toxicity and damage to the kidneys. It can also reduce the damage of toxic substances to the liver, fight the occurrence of liver fibrosis, and promote the regeneration of liver cells to prevent hepatitis, cirrhosis and other diseases.
Improves cardiac function: Cordyceps and aqueous extract of Cordyceps can slow down heart rate and increase cardiac output and coronary flow. It can enhance myocardial pulsation, increase coronary blood flow, reduce peripheral vascular resistance, improve the cardiac ability to tolerate hypoxia, reduce the heart's oxygen consumption, and anti-arrhythmia, thereby improving cardiac function.
Improve digestive system function: Cordyceps can promote the repair of gastrointestinal mucosal damage, and help the recovery of upper gastrointestinal bleeding and chronic atrophic gastritis. Cordyceps mycelium also has a regulatory effect on the abnormal immune function of chronic hepatitis and post-hepatitis cirrhosis.
Enhance immunity: Cordyceps has an immunomodulatory effect, which can improve the body's immunity and prevent diseases. It can not only increase the number of immune system cells and tissues, promote the production of antibodies, increase the number of phagocytic and killer cells, enhance their function, but also reduce the function of certain immune cells.
Antioxidant: Cordyceps is rich in polysaccharides, triterpenoids, flavonoids and other components, which have a strong antioxidant effect and can delay aging.
Improves sleep: The active ingredients in Cordyceps can regulate the nervous system, relieve symptoms such as anxiety and fatigue, and help people improve sleep quality.
Improves sexual performance: The active ingredients in Cordyceps are able to promote blood circulation, increase the secretion of sex hormones, and improve sexual performance in men.
It should be noted that although Cordyceps has a variety of effects, it is not suitable for everyone, so you should choose according to your own situation. In addition, Cordyceps has certain toxicity and should be used according to the advice of a doctor or pharmacist. Cordyceps can be used alone or in combination with other herbs, such as walnut kernels, to enhance the effect of warming the kidneys and promoting yang, and strengthening the waist and knees. Cordyceps can be taken orally alone, and can also be used as decoction, soaking wine, making powder, boiling ointment, etc., and can also be used as a raw material for tea, desserts, and medicinal diets. It is mostly eaten in medicinal food with animal meat stew, and now it is mostly used to take it at the end of the grinding.
The difference between wild and artificial Cordyceps is mainly reflected in the following aspects:
Growth environment and cycle: Wild Cordyceps grows in high-altitude areas, such as Sichuan, Qinghai, ** and other places, and the growth cycle is usually 3-5 years. Artificially planted Cordyceps is mainly grown in artificially created environments, such as greenhouses, and the growth cycle can be shortened to 2-3 months or even 6 months by controlling temperature, nutrition and other conditions.
Appearance: The grass head of wild Cordyceps is naturally curved, from thick to fine, with obvious yellow and black gradients in color, and the grass head is subcontracted to the insect head. The grass head of artificially planted Cordyceps is as thick as the top and bottom, the gradient color is not obvious, and the base of the grass head is not expanded, so it cannot wrap the head of the insect. In addition, the body and tip of wild Cordyceps are uniform in thickness, while the body of artificially planted Cordyceps is hypertrophic and the tip is thin.
Taste and nutritional value: Wild Cordyceps has a fresh and fragrant taste, a faint mushroom fragrance, high nutritional value, and rich nutrients such as cordycepin, cordyceps polysaccharides, cordyceps acid, amino acids, and trace elements. However, artificially planted Cordyceps has a bland taste and low nutritional value, which is not much different from the fungi that are eaten daily.
Digestive glands: The digestive glands are clearly visible after the wild Cordyceps is broken, while the digestive glands are basically not visible after the artificial Cordyceps is broken, or there are only shallow traces.