Yarchabumba

There are over 680 documented species of the sac fungus genus Cordyceps, and one of the most well known of these is the Cordyceps sinensis, colloquially known as caterpillar fungus. The scientific name's etymology is from the Latin cord "club", ceps "head", and sinensis "from China". The fungus is known in Tibetan as yartsa gunbu or yatsa gunbu.

Caterpillar fungi are the result of a parasitic relationship between the fungus and the larva of the ghost moth genus Thitarodes, several species of which live on the Tibetan Plateau (Tibet, Qinghai, West-Sichuan, SW-Gansu & NW Yunnan, all in China, and the Himalayas India, Nepal, Bhutan). The fungus germinates in living organisms (in some cases the larvae), kills and mummifies the insect, and then the cordyceps grows from the body of the insect. It is known in the West as a medicinal mushroom and its use has a long history in Traditional Chinese medicine as well as Traditional Tibetan medicine.[1]
Contents
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* 1 Names
* 2 Natural history
* 3 Use in Medicine
o 3.1 Traditional Asian medicines
o 3.2 Caterpillar fungus research
o 3.3 Caterpillar fungus's introduction to the world
* 4 Economics and impact
* 5 Gallery
* 6 See also
* 7 Notes
* 8 References
* 9 External links

[edit] Names

In Tibetan it is known as དབྱར་རྩྭ་དགུན་འབུ་ yartsa gunbu [Wylie: dbyar rtswa dgun 'bu, "summer herb winter worm"], which is the source of the Nepali यार्शागुम्बा, yarshagumba, yarchagumba. The transliteration in Bhutan is Yartsa Guenboob. It is also known as keera jhar or keeda ghas in India. Its name in Chinese dong chong xia cao (冬虫夏草) means "winter worm, summer grass" (i.e., "worm in the winter, [turns to] plant in the summer"). The Chinese name is a literal translation of the original Tibetan name, which was first recorded in the 15th Century by the Tibetan doctor Zurkhar Namnyi Dorje (Wylie: Zur mkhar mnyam nyid rdo rje’s [1439-1475]) in his text: Man ngag bye ba ring bsrel ("Instructions on a Myriad of Medicines"). A translation is available at Winkler [2] In traditional Chinese medicine, its name is often abbreviated as chong cao, a name that also applies to other Cordyceps species, such as C. militaris.

Strangely, sometimes in Chinese English language text Cordyceps sinensis is referred to as aweto, which is the Māori name for Cordyceps robertsii, a species from New Zealand. In Japanese it is known as tōchūkasō.

The English term "vegetable caterpillar" is a misnomer. Caterpillar fungus is a preferable term.
[edit] Natural history

The "caterpillar" [technically it is a larva, since it is hairless] prone to infection by the fungus lives underground in alpine grass and shrublands on the Tibetan Plateau and the Himalayas at an altitude between 3,000 and 5,000 m (9,800 and 16,000 ft). Spending up to five years underground before pupating, the caterpillar is attacked while feeding on roots. The fungus invades the body of the Thitarodes caterpillars, filling its entire body cavity with mycelium and eventually killing and mummifying it. The caterpillars die near the tops of their burrows. The dark brown to black fruiting body (or mushroom) emerges from the ground in spring or early summer, always growing out of the forehead of the caterpillar. The long, usually columnar fruiting body reaches 5–15 cm above the surface and releases spores.

In Nepal caterpillar fungus is found on the subalpine pastures in Dolpo in Karnali Zone and Darchula in Mahakali zone. It is also common in Bhutan and India's Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand Himalayas. Reports of distribution outside of "High Asia" are erroneous and relate to other species of Cordyceps, e.g. Cordyceps militaris.

It is not certain how the fungus infects the caterpillar; possibly by ingestion of a fungal spore or by the fungus mycelium invading the insect through one of its breathing pores.
[edit] Use in Medicine
[edit] Traditional Asian medicines
Weighing the precious Caterpillar fungus in Yushu, Southern Qinghai, China, July 2009. (Photo by Italian writer Mario Biondi)

The first mention of Cordyceps sinensis in traditional Chinese Medicine was in Wang Ang’s 1694 compendium of material medica, Ben Cao Bei Yao.[3] In the 18th Century it was listed in Wu Yiluo's Ben cao cong xin (“New compilation of materia medica”).[4]

The entire fungus-caterpillar combination is hand-collected for medicinal use.

The fungus is a medicinal mushroom which is highly prized by practitioners of Tibetan medicine, Chinese medicine and traditional herbal Folk medicines, in which it is used as an aphrodisiac and as a treatment for a variety of ailments from fatigue to cancer. It is regarded as having an excellent balance of yin and yang as it is apparently both animal and vegetable (though it is in actuality not vegetable, but fungi). Assays have found that Cordyceps species produce many pharmacologically active substances. They are now cultivated on an industrial scale for their medicinal value.

According to Bensky et al. (2004), laboratory-grown C. sinensis mycelium has similar clinical efficacy and less associated toxicity. He notes a toxicity case of constipation, abdominal distension, and decreased peristalsis, two cases of irregular menstruation, and one case report of amenorrhea following ingestion of tablets or capsules containing C. sinensis. In Chinese medicine C. sinensis is considered sweet and warm, entering the Lung and Kidney channels; the typical dosage is 3–9 grams.[5]
[edit] Caterpillar fungus research
Cordycepin a compound isolated from the "Caterpillar fungus".

Some work has been published in which Cordyceps sinensis has been used to protect the bone marrow and digestive systems of mice from whole body irradiation.[6] An experiment noted Cordyceps sinensis may protect the liver from damage.[7] An experiment with mice noted the mushroom may have an anti-depressant effect.[8] Researchers have noted that the Caterpillar fungus has a hypoglycemic effect and may be beneficial for people with insulin resistance.[9][10][11][12][13]
[edit] Caterpillar fungus's introduction to the world

Outside of the East, the world was largely unaware of cordyceps. This changed, when the fungus caught the world's attention due to three female Chinese athletes, Wang Junxia, Qu Yunxia, and Zhang Linli. These athletes broke 5 world records for 1,500, 3,000 and 10,000 meters in 1993 at the National Games in Beijing, China. The amount of new world records being set at a single track event caused much attention and suspicion. Following the races, the woman were expected by some, to fail drug tests for anabolic steroids. However, the athletes' tests revealed no illegal substances, and coach Ma Junren told the reporters that the runners were taking Cordyceps sinensis and turtle blood at his request. However for the Sydney Olympics, Ma Junren withdrew some of his athletes last minute. It was speculated that a new doping test would have revealed illegal doping, thus half a dozen Chinese field and track athletes were left home.
[edit] Economics and impact
Many shops in downtown Lanzhou advertise Dong chong xia cao (冬虫夏草) among other local specialties

In Tibet, yartsa gunbu has developed to become the most important source of cash income in rural Tibet contributing 40% of the annual cash income to local households and 8.5% to the GDP in 2004. Prices have increased continuously, especially since the late 1990s. In 2008, one kilogram traded for US$3,000 (lowest quality) to over US$18,000 (best quality equalling the largest larvae). The annual production on the Tibetan Plateau is estimated at 100–200 tons[vague].[3] The Himlayan Cordyceps production might not exceed a few tons.

Its value gave it a role in the Nepalese Civil War, as the Nepalese Maoists and government forces fought for control of the lucrative export trade during the June–July harvest season.[14] Collecting yarchagumba in Nepal had only been legalised in 2001, and now demand is highest in countries such as China, Thailand, Korea and Japan. By 2002, the herb was valued at R 105,000 ($1,435) per kilogram, allowing the government to charge a royalty of R 20,000 ($280) per kilogram.

In 2004 the value of a kilogram of caterpillars was estimated at about 30,000 to 60,000 Nepali rupees in Nepal, and about Rs 100,000 in India.[15]

The search for Cordyceps sinensis is often perceived to pose a threat for the environment of the Tibetan Plateau where it grows. While it has been collected for centuries and is still common in such collection areas, current collection rates are much higher than in historical times.

Cordyceps producers like to perpetuate the story that unscrupulous harvesters insert twigs into the stromata of wild C. sinensis to increase the weight and therefore the price paid. Tiny twigs are only used when the stromata is broken from the caterpillar, and has nothing to do with weight increases. Supposedly at some point in the past, someone has inserted lead wires with which to increase weight; however, each year hundreds of millions of specimens are harvested and this appears to have been a one time occurrence.[citation needed]

Cultivated C. sinensis mycelium is an alternative to wild-harvested C. sinensis, and producers claim it may offer improved consistency. Artificial culture of C. sinensis is typically by growth of the pure mycelium in liquid culture (in China) or on grains (in the West). Stromata are not produced apart from the insect host.

Because of its incredible value, inter-village conflicts over access to its grassland habitats has become a headache of the local governing bodies and in several cases people were killed.[16] However, taking the value and the vast habitat into account deadly incidents are rather the exception.

According to Daniel Winkler, the price of cordyceps has risen dramatically in the capital of Tibet, Lhasa.[3] (as indicated in the table below).
Year % Price Increase Price/kg (Yuan)
1980s 1,800
1997 467% 8,400
2004 429% 36,000
2005 10,000-60,000