Cordyceps Mushroom: a Potent Anticancer Nutraceutical

Md. Asaduzzaman Khan, Mousumi Tania, Dianzheng Zhang, Hanchun Chen

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The Cordyceps mushrooms have a long history as medicinal fungi. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, Cordyceps have been used to treat several conditions including cancers for thousand of years. Extracts from both mycelium and fruiting bodies of C. sinensis, C. militaris and other Cordyceps species showed significant anticancer activities by various mechanisms such as, modulating immune system and inducing cell apoptosis. Some polysaccharide components and cordycepin (3' -deoxyadenosine) have been isolated from C. sinensis and C. militaris, which acted as potent anticancer components. This review article aims to further elucidate the importance of Cordyceps mushrooms by summarizing the findings of some of the important research works concerning possible mechanism of anticancer activity of this mushroom.

Original languageAmerican English
JournalThe Open Nutraceutical Journal
Volume3
StatePublished - Jan 1 2010

Disciplines

  • Cancer Biology

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