Xinhui Cordyceps Militaris

Xinhui Cordyceps Militaris

　　Xinhui is a production and R&D base for Cordyceps militaris, where both the fruiting bodies of the fungus and dried tangerine peel have become local specialties.

　　Cordyceps militaris is the type species of the genus Cordyceps, belonging to the phylum Ascomycota, order Hypocreales, and family Cordycipitaceae. Its scientific name is Cordyceps militaris, also known as Northern Cordyceps or North China Cordyceps, and in some areas it is called 踊虫草. It has a worldwide distribution but occurs in very limited natural quantities. In 1950, German scientist Cunningham observed that insect tissues parasitized by Cordyceps militaris were resistant to decay, leading to the isolation of an antibacterial substance, 3'-deoxyadenosine, which was named cordycepin. It is a composite organism consisting of a stroma (the grass-like part, also known as the fruiting body) and a sclerotium (the insect carcass part). It most commonly infects the pupae of Lepidoptera insects. Traditional Chinese medicine holds that cordycepic acid (mannitol) enters the lung and kidney meridians, nourishing both lung yin and kidney yang. It is used to treat kidney deficiency, impotence, seminal emission, soreness in the lower back and knees, post-illness weakness, chronic cough with weakness, pulmonary tuberculosis with blood-streaked sputum, spontaneous sweating, and night sweats. It is the only traditional Chinese medicinal herb capable of simultaneously balancing and regulating yin and yang.