Cordyceps Militaris as the protector of the respiratory system
As per traditional Chinese medicine, Cordyceps Militaris has been talked about as the protector of the human respiratory system since more than a thousand years.
[1] In his book, L. Ganxhon describes the ability of the extract from Cordyceps Militaris to reduce symptoms related to asthma, COPD, pneumonia, phlegm, chronic bronchitis and other respiratory troubles. It also displayed the capability to relax bronchial walls and was able to improve oxygen utilizing efficiency of humans.
[2] Similar positive treatments have also been done on humans by Zhu.
Cordyceps Militaris is extremely useful for tracheal contractions and is able to generate a higher degree of airflow to the lungs than earlier, which is especially helpful for asthmatic patients.
[3] Another clinical study with 50 asthma patients showed how a group treated with Cordyceps Militaris showcased an improvement of 81.3% rate within just 5 days, in comparison to 61% and an average of 9 days for the group treated with regular antihistamines.
[4] Apart from the above, when mice fed on the mushroom and were placed in an extremely low oxygen environment, it was found that they could utilize oxygen more efficiently (30–50% increase), tolerate acidosis as well as hypoxia (unavailability of oxygen), and were able to survive 2–3 times more than the control group.
References
[1] Ganxhon, L et al. The essentials of traditional Chinese herbal medicine (5th edition). USA: Foreign Language Press, 2003
[2] Zhu, J et al. The Scientific Rediscovery of an Ancient Chinese Herbal Medicine: Cordycep Militaris The Journal Of Alternative And Complementary Medicine [part 1] Volume 4, Number 3, 1998, pp. 289—303 [part 2] Volume 4, Number 4, 1998, pp. 429 – 457
[3] Halpern, G. Cordycep Militaris, Chinas healing mushroom. Avery Publishing 1999: 63-70.
[4] Talbott, SM. A guide to understanding dietary supplements. New York: Haworth Press, 2003