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Cordyceps, Caterpillar Fungus, Dong Chong Xia Cao 冬虫夏草
Dong Chong Xia Cao ('Winter Worm, Summer Herb', TCM)
dByar rtswa dgun 'bu དབྱར་རྩྭ་དགུན་འབུ་ (Tibet)
dByar rtswa dgun 'bu དབྱར་རྩྭ་དགུན་འབུ་ (Tibet)
Left: uncleaned and cleansed fresh Cordyceps; Right: bunches of graded Cordyceps as sold on the Chinese Market.
Entomological name:
Cordyceps sinensis (syn. Ophiocordyceps sinensis)
C. militaris and others have been used similarly.
Parts used:
Dried worm with Cordyceps
Temperature & Taste:
Warm, moist. Sweet
Classification:
N. Yang Tonic
Cordyceps sinensis (syn. Ophiocordyceps sinensis)
C. militaris and others have been used similarly.
Parts used:
Dried worm with Cordyceps
Temperature & Taste:
Warm, moist. Sweet
Classification:
N. Yang Tonic
Uses:
1. Warms and Strengthen the Kidneys, Tonifies Yang:
-Impotence, Spermatorrhea, premature Ejaculation
-Weakness and pain of the lower back and knees
-frequent urination
-mental decline, Tinnitus, Forgetfulness, Failing Memory
2. Strengthens the Lungs, Stops Cough and Wheezing:
-Chronic Cough and Wheezing from deficiency
-Consumptive cough, Hemoptysis
-relieves altitude sickness
-nourishes Lung Yin, increases Lung Qi and Yang and is therefore very effective for chronic cases
Dose:
Powder: 500mg–2 grams
Decotion: 2–9 grams
Substitutes:
1. Now cultured mycelium of Cordyceps is being grown for the medicine market which is chemically very similar and also far cheaper.
2. Cordyceps Cicadae, the Cordyceps from Cicada has been shown to be an acceptable substitute. (see here)
Powder: 500mg–2 grams
Decotion: 2–9 grams
Substitutes:
1. Now cultured mycelium of Cordyceps is being grown for the medicine market which is chemically very similar and also far cheaper.
2. Cordyceps Cicadae, the Cordyceps from Cicada has been shown to be an acceptable substitute. (see here)
Main Combinations:
1. Kidney weakness with Impotence and chronic Lower Back Pain:
i. Cordyceps with Eucommia Du Zhong, Epimedium Yin Yang Huo and Cistanches Rou Cong Rong.
ii. Cordyceps, Velevt Deer Horn (Lu Rong), Epimedium Yin Yang Huo
iii. Cordyceps with Solomans Seal, Withania, Asparagus racemosus, Orchis (as in Gso Byed 6 Pa of Tibetan Medicine)
iv. Cordyceps with Rehmannia Shu Di Huang, Cornus Shan Zhu Yu, Epimedium Yin Yang Huo
2. Weakened resistance to colds and flu, spontaneous sweating:
i. Cordyceps with Astragalus Huang Qi, Saposhnikovia Fang Feng
ii. cook Cordyceps with Duck, Chicken or Pork and Astragalus Huang Qi, Angelica Dang Gui and Lycium Gou Qi Zi.
3. Night Cough, Cordyceps with American Ginseng (Xi Yang Shen), Codonopsis Dang Shen, Astragalus Huang Qi
4. Chronic Cough, Asthma from Lung and Kidney deficiency:
i. Yin Deficiency, Cordyceps, Ophiopogon Mai Men Dong, White Lily (Bai He), Fritillaria Chuan Bei Mu
ii, Cordyceps, Adenophora Sha Shen, Fritillaria Chuan Bei Mu, Gecko Ge Jie
iii. Kidney and Lung deficiency, Cordyceps, Ginseng, Schisandra Wu Wei Zi, Licorice
5. Acute Lung Injury:
i. Cordyceps, Astragalus Huang Qi, Salvia Dan Shen
ii. Cordyceps, Rhodiola, Licorice
6. Lung Cancer:
i. Cordyceps, Ophiopogon Mai Men Dong, Derndrobium Shi Hu, Rehmannia Shu Di Huang (Chen & Chen)
ii. Cordyceps, Astragalus Huang Qi, Poria Fu Ling, Asparagus Tian Men Dong, Licorice
7. Cancer, Cordyceps, Notoginseng San Qi, Ginseng, Frankincense. This is a modern Korean formula widely used in Cancer treatment.
8. Sweating from weakness, Cordyceps with Astragalus Huang Qi and Atractylodes Bai Zhu.
9. Lower Back Pain from Chronic Kidney weakness, Cordyceps, Eucommia Du Zhong, Dipsacus Xu Duan, Cibotium Gou Ji
10. Liver Fibrosis, Cordyceps, Peach kernel (Tao Ren), Astragalus Huang Qi
11. Tinnitus, Cordyceps, Lycium Gou Qi Zi ('Goji'), Cornus Shan Zhu Yu
12. Altitude sickness;
i. Cordyceps with Rhodiola Hong Jing Tian, Snow Lotus Xue Lian
ii. Cordyceps with Rhodiola Hong Jing Tian, Withania, Dang Gui, Licorice
13. To enhance athletic performance, Cordyceps, Rhodiola, Ginseng
Cautions:
Very Safe. Although high arsenic levels have been found in wild Cordyceps (see below)
1. Not used for acute conditions (exterior pathogens).
2. Note below that research demonstrated Cordyceps to promote growth of Prostate Cancer cells. This was isolated cell tests and therefore did not represent the complete effect such as enhancement of immunity and other anti-cancer effects.
Toxicity:
–Drug-induced, mixed-type hepatitis following ingestion of Cordyceps sinensis.
–Arsenic Content, Speciation, and Distribution in Wild Cordyceps sinensis.
–Arsenic Species in Cordyceps sinensis and Its Potential Health Risks.
Main Preparations used:
Very Safe. Although high arsenic levels have been found in wild Cordyceps (see below)
1. Not used for acute conditions (exterior pathogens).
2. Note below that research demonstrated Cordyceps to promote growth of Prostate Cancer cells. This was isolated cell tests and therefore did not represent the complete effect such as enhancement of immunity and other anti-cancer effects.
Toxicity:
–Drug-induced, mixed-type hepatitis following ingestion of Cordyceps sinensis.
–Arsenic Content, Speciation, and Distribution in Wild Cordyceps sinensis.
–Arsenic Species in Cordyceps sinensis and Its Potential Health Risks.
Main Preparations used:
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