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Organic, dried fruiting body — 500mg per capsule, 60 vegan capsules. Grown locally in South Africa, no fillers, no extract, just the mushroom itself.
R300
Ingredients: Organic Cordyceps fruiting body (500 mg per capsule), vegan capsule shell (hypromellose). Daily dose: 500 mg–3,000 mg (1–6 capsules). Full details
† Daily Value not established.
Active: Organic Cordyceps (Cordyceps militaris) fruiting body, dried, 500 mg per capsule.
Other: Vegan capsule shell (hypromellose). No fillers, additives, preservatives or extracts.
Take 1 to 6 capsules per day, with water, or as directed by your healthcare practitioner.
Store below 25°C in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight. Keep out of reach of children.
Cordyceps militaris is a fungus used for a long time in Asian traditional medicine, most often to ease tiredness and to support the immune system. Unlike the rare wild caterpillar fungus (Ophiocordyceps sinensis), it can be cultivated, which is why it is the species grown and sold widely today. Researchers who have analysed its chemistry report that the fruiting body, which is what is in our capsules, holds the highest concentrations of nucleosides, polysaccharides, carotenoids and organic selenium compounds, compared with mycelium grown in culture.
A nucleoside (3′-deoxyadenosine) that differs from adenosine by a single oxygen atom on its sugar ring. Because the two are so alike, cells can treat cordycepin like adenosine, and in animal experiments some of its effects have been shown to work through adenosine receptors. How much a batch contains varies with growing conditions and which part of the fungus is used.
Carbohydrate molecules from the fungal cell wall, including galactomannan. They are thought to act mainly in the gut, where they meet immune cells and gut bacteria, rather than being absorbed whole.
Adenosine is also present; in the Chinese pharmacopoeia it is the main quality marker for the related species Cordyceps sinensis. Cordycepic acid (D-mannitol) is a sugar alcohol, and ergosterol is the sterol fungi use in their cell membranes.
Reviews list ergothioneine and carotenoids, along with amino acids and GABA, among the other components. In a mouse study, a fruiting-body extract was reported to raise antioxidant enzyme activity and to reduce fatigue-related measures.