What's this ?
Yarsagumba is the western phonetic translation of the Nepali term used to refer to a "phantom moth" larva (insect).
This fungus is identified by the binomial nomenclature Ophiocordyceps sinensis [sin. Sphaeria sinensis Berk. (1843) Cordyceps sinensis (Berk.) Sacc. (1878)].
Mummified caterpillars with emerging Ophiocordyceps sinensis . From wikipedia.org
Yarsagumba acts as a lethal parasite; germinates in the living larva and kills it mummifying it. Only at this point, the fruit-bearing body of the mushroom (stem and chapel) emerges from the corpse until it reaches the surface.
Currently, the yarsagumba belongs to the flourishing herbalist and natural remedies business, in which it has recently taken on a fairly high economic value.
Among the various entomopathogenic fungi *, yarsagumba has been used for at least 2000 years. It has a long history of use in traditional oriental medicine and is also known in the West as a "medicinal mushroom".
The proper yarsagumba is sold whole, together with the larva; conservation is good, thanks to the mummification of the animal when it is still alive. However, there are also other medicinal forms of O. sinensis (such as capsules or tablets), made from artificially grown fungi on other substrates (not larvae).
Yarsagumba is widely used in traditional Tibetan and Chinese medicine, thanks to the alleged healing, energizing and aphrodisiac abilities.
Although several fermentable strains of O. sinensis have already been isolated, for the moment the larva yarsagumba is not subject to cultivation and is taken exclusively from its natural habitat. As can be easily deduced, the over-exploitation of this resource has determined a progressive impoverishment of the territory, up to the classification of the yarsagumba as an endangered species.
Medicinal properties
Use in Traditional Asian Medicine
Yarsagumba is a mushroom much appreciated by practitioners of Tibetan and Chinese medicine, who use it as an essential treatment in a wide variety of disorders; on a healing level, the yarsagumba is particularly renowned for its beneficial effects on the lungs and kidneys, as hypoglycemic, stimulating the immune system and anti-cancer. It also appears to have antiaging, toning and beneficial effects on erectile dysfunction.
The applications of the yarsagumba are of various kinds; they range from the treatment of infectious diseases, in particular those affecting the respiratory tract, to renal and hepatic diseases. It is effective in the fight against chronic fatigue or asthenia, hyperglycemia of type 2 diabetes mellitus, hyperlipemias, kidney, liver and heart disease (especially arrhythmias).
The medicinal use of yarsagumba is likely to have originated in Tibet or Nepal. The oldest text documenting its use (Man Ngag ring bye ba bsrel) was written in the late 1400s by the Tibetan doctor Zurkhar Nyamnyi Dorje.
The first mention of yarsagumba in traditional Chinese medicine is attributable to Wang Ang, who, in 1694, wrote a compendium on the materia medica (Ben Cao Bei Yao); in the 18th century it was also mentioned in Wu Yiluo's book (Ben cao cong xin).
In Chinese medicine, the yarsagumba is considered a perfectly balanced food between the yin and the yang, since it is composed of 50% from an animal source and from the other half vegetable (although, according to the western classification, the mushrooms belong to a third kingdom).
Today, the mycelium of O. sinensis is also cultivated on an industrial scale, using cereals or liquids as a growth substrate; however, no one has been able to get it by breeding the larvae to infect with the (traditional) parasite.
The typical dosage of yarsagumba, in the form of tablets or capsules, is about 3-9g.
Contraindications
According to a study by Bensky et al. (2004), the mycelia of Ophiocordyceps sinensis grown in the laboratory have similar clinical efficacy and lower toxicity.
Adverse effects caused by ingestion of tablets or capsules containing O. sinensis may include: constipation, abdominal distension, decreased peristalsis, irregular menstrual cycle in women (two reported cases) and amenorrhea (a reported case).
Outline of Ecology
The caterpillars at risk of yarsagumba infection live at 15cm below ground, on alpine meadows and in the shrubby areas of the Tibetan and Himalayan plateau, at an altitude between 3, 000 and 5, 000m (from northern Nepal, Bhutan and also at northern India, up to the northern part of Yunnan, eastern Qinghai, eastern Tibet, western Sichuan and south-western Gansu).
The fungus acts when the guest goes into hibernation, growing rapidly and consuming it from the inside out. In general, larvae are more vulnerable after skin changes in late summer.
The larvae are infected by environmental spores, released by another fungus through the fruiting body; generally, the infection starts from the head, since the caterpillars have a tendency to go into hibernation maintaining a vertical position.
At the time of germination of the fungus, the larva remains killed and mummified, after which the fruiting body grows and emerges starting from the animal's head to the surface (in late spring).
THE. sinensis is able to infect as many as 57 species belonging to different genera.
