Extraction Polysaccha ride Nucleoside Antioxidant Antiaging Immune-stim ulant A B S T R A C T A gr eat mystique and aura surrounds Cor dyceps sinensis (syn.: Cephalosporium sinensis ), an endoparasitic fungus which has claims of anti-cancer and anti-aging properties. Much resear ch has been conduc ted over the years on crude extracts and its bioactivity . More resear ch is no w focused on culturing C. sinensis and on isolating and identifying pure co mpound s no vel to C. sinensis in an attempt to allev iate strain on dem and for the natural fung i. Se ver al polysacc hari des, nucleosides and sterols all ha ve had re ports of promoting health both in vitro and in vivo . Specific and no vel compound s which are cha racteristic to C. sinensis are emer ging with re ports of two new epipol ythiod ioxopiperazines, gliocladic illins A and B capab le of inhibiting gro wth of HeLa , Hep G2 and MCF-7 tumor cells. Exclusiv e to natural C. sinensis, five constituent s of cor dysinin (A-E) has also been re ported for the first time and has been linked to anti-inflammatory properties. Although it ma y still be premature to belie ve these results should translate into pharmaceutica l use, there is sufficient evide nce to warr ant further resear ch. Cro wn Cop yright Ó