AUSTIN, TX—Cordyceps is widely regarded as one of the most valuable ingredients in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). The fungus is harvested from the wild and consists of a club-shaped, spore-releasing fruiting body that emerges from a ghost moth (Hepialus spp.) larva. Recently, the ABC-AHP-NCNPR Botanical Adulterants Prevention Program (BAPP) announced the publication of its first document focused solely on a fungal ingredient, the Botanical Adulteration Prevention Bulletin (BAPB) on cordyceps (Ophiocordyceps sinensis), documenting the many ways in which the fruiting body and mycelium of the fungus are mislabeled and/or adulterated.
About the Cordyceps Market
Cordyceps refers to several different fungal species, but Ophiocordyceps sinensis is the primary species that grows in the wild. Predominantly sold in the natural channel of retail trade, cordyceps dietary supplements support kidney, immune, and cardiovascular health, improve athletic performance, and increase endurance. Last year, cordyceps was the 26th top-selling herbal supplement ingredient with $5,225,915 in sales.
ABC reports that, due to the high costs associated with wild cordyceps, its dietary and food supplement market is dominated by lower-cost alternatives, commercially raised Cordyceps militaris or Paecilomyces hepiali (reclassified as Samsoniella hepiali in 2020). In Asia, wild cordyceps are sold at high prices with undeclared additions of pieces of sticks or wires and are soaked in concentrated mineral solutions to increase the weight. In Europe and the U.S., financially motivated adulterants in cordyceps dietary supplements include different fungal species (e.g., Tolypocladium inflatum), grain-based media containing small amounts or no cordyceps mycelium, undeclared excipients or fillers.
The Report
Authored by renowned herbalist, botanist, mycologist, and author, Christopher Hobbs, Ph.D., President and Executive Director of the nonprofit American Herbal Pharmacopoeia (AHP) Roy Upton, and Chief Science Officer of the nonprofit American Botanical Council (ABC) Stefan Gafner, Ph.D., the bulletin includes a review of the available literature on cordyceps adulteration, nomenclature and taxonomy, supply chain/network and market importance, and analytical approaches to detect adulterants and was peer-reviewed by 21 experts from academia, contract analytical laboratories, and the botanical ingredient industries in the United States and internationally.
“This has been a challenging bulletin to write...especially figuring out what is currently offered as ‘cordyceps’ in various regions around the globe. For me, the main takeaway for the dietary supplement industry is that better methods to authenticate the various products marketed as cordyceps are needed," shared Dr. Gafner.
The bulletin on cordyceps marks the 29th publication in the series of BAPBs and the 91st peer-reviewed document published by BAPP. “I hope that our publication will help consumers, manufacturers, practitioners, and researchers understand the origins and biology of these fascinating traditional medicines, along with considerations of the design and conduction of further studies to help define the potential efficacy and range of health benefits of these traditional products as well as how to produce them in the most efficacious way," shared Hobbs.
A full copy of the report is available from BAPP and ABC.
