What is Cordyceps fungus, which Chinese Army intruded into Indian territory to find?

An herbal drug seems to be at the heart of recent attempted incursions into Indian territory by the Chinese Army.

Cordyceps, also known as caterpillar fungus or Himalayan Gold, is an expensive herbal drug, as per the Indo-Pacific Centre for Strategic Communications (IPCSC),

Cordyceps is rumoured be more expensive than gold in China.

Let’s take a look at Cordyceps:

What is it?

Cordyceps, whose scientific name is Cordyceps sinensis, is a rare combination of a caterpillar and fungus, as per the National Library of Medicine.

The name Cordyceps comes from the Latin words meaning club and head.

Brown in colour, it can be up to two inches in length, as per DNA.

Parasitic in nature, the fungus consumes more than 90 per cent of the infected insect – essentially making its host a mummy.

It weighs around 300 to 500 mg.

Where is it found?

Cordyceps is mainly found in the Indian Himalayas and at higher altitudes of the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau in southwestern China.

According to the National Library of Medicine, it is also found at altitudes above 4500m in Sikkim.

It can also be found in other parts of India, Nepal and Bhutan.

As per The Week, it is called Yartsa Gunbu in Nepal and Tibet, a poetic name meaning summer grass, winter worm and keeda jadi in Uttarakhand.

Why is it valuable?

Because of its purported health benefits.

As per The Week, its benefits were perhaps first described in 15th Century Tibetan medicinal text An Ocean of Aphrodisiacal Qualities.

In China, traditional medicine has recommended the use of insect and fungi remains to treat fatigue, sickness, kidney disease and low sex drive for centuries, according to Healthline.

In Sikkim, traditional healers and locals prescribe it for 21 different ailments.

As per Very Well Health, it is thought to provide the following benefits as a supplement:

• Increased exercise performance
• Boosted immunity
• Reduced inflammation
• Improved heart health
• Lower blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes.

While health experts remain uncertain about its benefit, scientists have great hope for the bioactive molecule cordycepin found in Cordyceps.

They say it has great therapeutic potential and may one day be turned into an effective new antiviral and anti-cancer treatment.

Why is it so expensive in China?

Because it is in high demand.

As per The Week, a kilogram of keeda jadi on the international market can fetch Rs 65 lakh – which means it is costlier than gold or diamonds.

The Cordyceps market has been valued at $1,072.50 million in 2022.

China is the largest producer as well as exporter of Cordyceps.

However, according to IPCSC, “In the last two years, the Cordyceps harvest has waned in Qinghai, the largest producing region in China as the fungus grew scarce. At the same time, demand for the highly prized Cordyceps has increased sharply in the last decade as an emerging Chinese middle class seeks it to cure everything from kidney disorders to impotence, despite a lack of scientific evidence.”

High demand and limited resources have led to the fungus’ overharvesting, experts say.

“Output fell to 41,200 kg in 2018 from 43,500 kg a year earlier, a 5.2 percent slump, revealed data from the bureau. That’s a fraction of the 150,000 kg reported by provincial media for 2010 and 2011,” according to the IPCSC.

Chinese Cordyceps companies in Qinghai have in recent years been paying the locals millions of yuans to block off entire mountains for Cordyceps harvesting.

Surveys show that the annual Cordyceps harvest has declined. This according to the collectors, can be attributed to overharvesting.

According to IPCSC: “Some towns in the Himalayas rely on collecting and selling this fungus for a living. In fact, experts say that up to 80 percent of household income in the Tibetan Plateau and Himalayas can come from selling caterpillar fungus.”

The mushrooms are rare in the wild, and up until now, growing healthy Cordyceps in the lab has been difficult, hindering scientific research.

However, professor Mi Kyeong Lee of Chungbuk National University and her team, including Dr Ayman Turk, have discovered a way to grow these elusive fungi in a controlled environment without losing their potency.

Their findings have been published in Frontiers in Microbiology.

With inputs from agencies

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