Application of microscopy in authentication of valuable Chinese medicine i—Cordyceps sinensis, its counterfeits, and related products

Abstract

Light and polarized microscope was applied to authenticate 32 Cordyceps and 6 artificial counterfeits and 8 fermented Cordyceps as well as 7 Cordyceps capsules available in Hong Kong markets. Results showed that transverse sections of stroma and powder of larvae can be used to differentiate C. sinensis from its counterfeits. The fermented Cordyceps are in powder form. Among the eight fermented Cordyceps collected, half of them were pure; three were a mixture of fermented Cordyceps and soya beans; one was a mixture of unknown plant tissues and soya beans. For the seven Cordyceps capsules, the powders of five samples were a mixture of fermented Cordyceps and soya beans; the powders of other two were a mixture of C. sinensis stroma powder and fermented Cordyceps. The study indicated that the microscopy is an unambiguous method that requests fewer sample for the authentication of valuable Chinese medicine-C. sinensis and its related products.

Identification of Ophiocordyceps sinensis and Its Artificially Cultured Ophiocordyceps Mycelia by Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography/Orbitrap Fusion Mass Spectrometry and Chemometrics

“…Previous studies report different macroscopic and microscopic methods that can be used to identify O. sinensis -related products [23,26,27,28,29]. Nevertheless, the probability of the accurate identification of the species level was not the same for the different species [32,49,50,51,52].…”

“…Traditionally, O. sinensis is identified through morphological description, microscopic identification, or chemical composition assay [23,26,27,28,29]. However, since these methods lack objective standards or a specific component index, it is difficult to effectively identify and distinguish O. sinensis from various cultured O. mycelia [30,31,32,33,34].…”

Potential molecular mechanisms for fruiting body formation of Cordyceps illustrated in the case ofCordyceps sinensis

“…With the reckless exploration, the annual harvest has been decreasing rapidly and resulting in serious habitat destruction (Li et al 2011). The price of C. sinensis reached USD 13,000 per kg in 2008–2009 (Au et al 2011), and the top quality C. sinensis rocketed up to USD 32,000 per kg in Hong Kong and San Francisco in late 2006 (Winkler 2008). Therefore, the cultured C. sinensis becomes an urgent need and inevitable trend.…”

Recent advances in Cordyceps sinensis polysaccharides: Mycelial fermentation, isolation, structure, and bioactivities: A review

“…Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in China in 2003, there was a notable increase in the use of C. sinensis. Over the last 10 years, the demand as well as the price for C. sinensis has increased dramatically in China, Japan, Korea and India (Au et al, 2012;Jeffrey, 2012;Winkler, 2009). As natural C. sinensis are very limited and cannot meet the increasing demand, fermentation technology has been widely exploited for largescale production of C. sinensis fungal mycelia and other useful constituents.…”