Save yourself from cancer with Cordyceps Militaris

Traditional Asian medicine has made use of Cordyceps Militaris for a number of years. [1] An anti-cancer effect has been found in the extract of this fungus. It has been tested on cancerous RKO, which is a human colorectal cell line.

Results of the above experiment stated how RKO cells were susceptible to the ethanol extract from Cordyceps Militaris and growth of the tumour from RKO cells had also been delayed significantly. It showed that the ethanol extract of the mushroom was cytotoxic to RKO cells and inhibited the tumour’s growth. This anti-tumour effect was then linked with mitochondrial apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. [2] As per another experiment, it was also seen that Cordyceps Militaris became responsible for deaths of tumour cells by the caspase-dependent mitochondrial pathway in MCF-7 and HepG2 cells.

Cordycepin, often recognized as the most bioactive compound within Cordyceps Militaris, also plays ant- metastatic and anti-tumour roles. This form of alternative medicine finds widespread application in prevention and treatment of cancer. Cordycepin is able to induce apoptosis, show antiproliferative effects, and also have an antiangiogenic effect on human cells, other than targeting cancer stem cells (CSCs).

[3] Studies have also shown that Cordyceps Militaris is able to bring down the growth of cancerous cells within sarcoma S180, Erlich’s ascites carcinoma and MA737 cancer of the breast. Cells in the body are meant to grow and divide in a way that overall health remains constant. Cells that become old or get damaged are replaced by new cells, and tumours tend to form when this division becomes uncontrollable.

References

[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4491205/

[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4878560/

[3] Ganxhon, L et al. The essentials of traditional Chinese herbal medicine (5th edition). USA: Foreign Language Press, 2003