Cordyceps cicadae (C. cicadae) is one of the most valued traditional Chinese medicines (TCM) and have been used for about 1,600 years in China. Both TCM works and modern pharmacological studies indicate that C. cicadae exhibits a variety of biological functions, including vision improvement and protection of renal function. There are at least five active ingredients in C. cicadae, suggesting that further exploration on bioactive metabolites of C. cicadae is expected to expand for its application scope and better exert its healthcare efficacy. Because of the shortage of wild C. cicadae, artificially cultivated is an ideal substitute. The methods we developed include fruiting body production based on wild culture matrix, cultivation based on infected nymphs, liquid fermentation of mycelium. Safety evaluation of the artificially cultivated C. cicadae is important in development of C. cicadae-related product. No toxic effect was observed in the acute toxicity test (piglet), 3 different test systems of genotoxicity test, a 90day oral toxicity test (rats), as well as teratogenicity test of C. cicadae mycelium. C. cicadae possesses multiple pharmacological activities that offers several featured advantages such as low toxicity, low price and easy availability of raw materials from artificial cultivation, paving a broad way for functional products and supplements incorporating healthcare foods, cosmetics, biological agriculture, and pharmaceuticals.
Cordyceps cicadae is a parasitic fungus that hibernates inside a host (Cicada flammata Dist.) and then grows its fruiting body on the surface of the insect. The complete insect/fungus combination of C. cicadae has been widely applied in Chinese traditional medicine. Recent studies have demonstrated that the medicinal benefits of cultured mycelia are as effective as those found in the wild. However, toxicological information regarding the chronic consumption of C. cicadae mycelia culture is not available. This study was conducted to evaluate the possible toxicity arising from repeated exposure to freeze-dried submerged mycelial culture of C. cicadae for 90 days. A total of eighty 8-week-old Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 4 groups (10 males and 10 females in each group). C. cicadae was administered daily to animals by gavage at doses of 0, 500, 1000, and 2000 mg/kg body weight for 90 days. No animal deaths occurred and no treatment-related clinical signs were observed during the study period. No statistical differences in body weight gain, relative organ weight, hematology, serum chemistry, and urinalysis were observed. Gross necropsy and histopathological findings indicated that there was no treatment-related abnormality. Based on the results, the no observed adverse effect level of C. cicadae whole broth is determined to be > 2000 mg/kg for male and female Sprague-Dawley rats. The results of this study provides support for the use of C. cicadae fermentation product as a safe agent in functional food.
Cordyceps cicadae, also known as the cicadae flower, is a wellknown entomopathogenic fungus. The C. cicadae mycelia are parasitic toward specific hosts, such as Cicada flammata Distant, Platypleura kaempferi Fabricius, Crytotympana pustulata Fabricious, Platylomia pieli Kato, and Oncotympana maculatieollis Motsch (Zeng et al., 2014). The cicadae flower has been used as traditional Chinese medicine (not only in China but also in Japan and Taiwan) for at least 1,600 years to treat fatigue, night perspiration, fever, childish convulsion, palpitation, epilepsy, and many eye diseases
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