Pharmaceutical Mushrooms- Cordyceps sinensis

Full Spectrum Mushroom Mycelium Products

1212 SW 5th Street
Grants Pass, OR 97526-2939

(541) 476-5588
(541) 476-1823 (FAX)
A division of Northwest Botanicals, I nc.
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Cordyceps sinensis
In depth discussions about cultivation and medicinal properties.
This Cordyceps is the only one grown under specially controlled low
temperature and low oxygen conditions, which replicates the natural
habitat. Fully Vegan! No imported ingredients, each lot is independently
analyzed and certified pure by a third party FDA certified lab using the
latest HPLC/MS technology. We are so certain that you will find this
Cordyceps to be the finest quality you have ever tried.
In nature this mushroom grows only off of the head of a buried caterpillar!
( NOTE: Ours is grown without the insect, strictly on a vegetable
base consisting of organic Millet and organic Sorghum) . This
mushroom comes from the high Himalayas Mountains, where it is found
between 14,000 and 16,000 feet in elevation. The mycelium (which is the
'vegetative' growth form of the organism) grows in the soil in these high,
cold and arid mountains. At a certain point in the life cycle, the mycelium
finds the buried caterpillar, which is the larvae of the bat moth, and
colonizes it. The caterpillar becomes mummified by the growth of the
mycelium, and although it still looks like a caterpillar, when studied under
the microscope, it is almost entirely mycelium. the mycelium then forms
into a mushroom, which sprouts off of the back of the caterpillars' head!
The mushroom pokes through the soil and grows up through the grass. The
mushroom itself, the part sticking up out of the ground, looks much like
blades of grass. The local people find the caterpillar by watching the wild
yaks. Where the yaks graze, the mushroom is found. The local name for
this mushroom is Dong Chong Xia Cao, which means "summer grass,
winter worm"
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Pharmaceutical Mushrooms- Cordyceps sinensis
For centuries in the Orient this mushroom has been highly prized for its
medicinal properties. It has been traditionally traded for its weight in silver,
except in times of shortage or illness, when it went for its weight in gold! As
such a rare and expensive item, its use was basically reserved for the
royalty in the court of Beijing. Imagine the arduous journey, traveling by
yak pack, from the highest and remotest mountain valleys, all the way to
the court in Beijing, four thousand miles away! No wonder it was held in
such high esteem. One of the truly miraculous aspects of our culture today
is that this medicine can now be cultivated and made available for use by
the common man, all over the world.
MEDICINAL PROPERTIES
Antibiotics: The medicinal properties of this mushroom are equally
amazing. One of the highlights of modern research has been the discovery
of novel new antibiotics in this mushroom. One of these, Cordycepin, is very
effective against all sorts of bacteria that have developed resistance to the
other antibiotics. Especially notable is its effectiveness against
TUBERCULOSIS! It is also effective in all sorts of lung and respiratory
infections, as well as in the treatment of LEPROSY. All too many bacteria
have, or are, developing resistance to the more common antibiotics such as
penicillin (Another fungus product!).
Athletic Enhancer: The best known medicinal action of Cordyceps is for
the increase of physical stamina. The Chinese national games in 1993
brought this mushroom to the attention of the worlds' sports authorities. A
group of nine women athletes who had been taking Cordyceps shattered
NINE WORLDS RECORDS! The record for the 10 km run was beaten by an
unprecedented 42 SECONDS. Not too bad in a world where records are
usually broken by a few hundredths of a second!
The number of stories of amazing increases in sports performance is many.
There has even been talk of banning it from sporting events as an unfair
advantage to those who can get it! Most professional athletes who use it
now are unwilling to admit it, due to the possibility that some sporting
authority will outlaw its use. (NOTE: The Canadian Olympic Committee has
finally taken an official stand on Cordyceps... They have ruled that it IS
allowed in professional competition! Yea!)
Disease Therapy: Another major use of this mushroom is in the treatment
of LEUKEMIA. It has shown outstanding activity against human Leukemia in
many trials in China, Japan and elsewhere. One of the main uses in
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been for asthma and other bronchial
conditions. Modern research has proven this over and over again. See the
Research Papers section for more information on this amazing medicinal
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Pharmaceutical Mushrooms- Cordyceps sinensis
mushroom.
Wild Cordyceps vs Laboratory Cultivation
There has been concern over the rumor of contamination of Cordyceps with
heavy metals, particularly lead. This is a well founded concern. As the wild
mushroom is collected in the high mountains by very poor village folks,
there has been a long history of slipping a small stick up the tail end of the
caterpillar to increase the weight of the product that is delivered to market.
In recent years, these sticks have been replaced more and more with small
bits of lead solder. A good way for them to increase the weight perhaps, but
not at all what you want to eat! There have even been several recorded
instances in Taiwan of full blown lead poisoning caused by use of
Cordyceps. However, this only applies to the wild collected form of
Cordyceps and not to the laboratory grown variety. (Each batch of
Cordyceps we produce has full heavy metal analysis performed by an
independent lab and is certified safe!)
Which brings us to how it is grown. As the wild range of Cordyceps is quite
limited and very far away, the cost of the wild variety is astronomically
high. As of April 2003, the wholesale cost in China for lots of 100 kg or
more was between $2000 - $3000 per kilogram. This is expensive enough
to keep it out of the hands of most people.
Modern research however, has developed methods for cultivating this
mushroom in the laboratory. Our own proprietary method of Cordyceps
cultivation has taken the worlds' knowledge of this amazing mushroom
leaps ahead. It is not necessary to grow out the mushroom on caterpillars in
order to gain the medicinal benefits. In fact, it has been found that the
cultivated mycelium has consistently more active ingredients than the wild
collected variety. So we concentrated on growing primarily the mycelium,
on a specially formulated substrate which provides all of the required
nutrients for optimum bio activity. We then grow the mycelium under tightly
controlled conditions of temperature and oxygen content for a long period of
time; up to 6 months in a special low temperature, low oxygen grow room!
(Compared to 18-21 days for all the other American grown Cordyceps and
typically 4-5 days for Chinese grown!) This, coupled with the fact that there
is no heavy metal risk when cultivated in the lab, makes ours the preferred
form for human consumption. The mycelium is then dried using special low
temperature air dryers which we designed and built especially to capture all
of the bio-active components.
The powdered mycelium is then extracted, again using our own technology
which has been duplicated no where else. This extraction process is done
dry, using absolutely no solvents whatsoever. Not even water! We insure
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Pharmaceutical Mushrooms- Cordyceps sinensis
that there is virtually no remaining grain in the mycelium product (less than
2% as verified by third-party analytical labs). It is then encapsulated and
made available for use. We can now offer this product to you at a cost far
below the wild variety, The cost of this premier American grown and
certified health supplement is now low enough to be used as a daily
supplement.

* NOTE: These claims have not been evaluated by the FDA. Our products
are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Health
decisions are much too important to be made without the advice of a
Doctor or other Health Care Practitoner. We invite and encourage you to
share this information with your doctor. We are happy to share all of our
research materials with any doctor who asks.
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