Himalayan Cordyceps endangered

Excessively harvested and climate changed, the amount of cordyceps in the Himalayas is severely reduced.

In Asian countries, cordyceps is considered a panacea. Although Western science has not yet proven, people still believe this kind of "medicine" cure all diseases, ranging from impaired sexual ability to cancer. People boiled cordyceps in the country to make tea or put in soup, stew.

Due to "miraculous" and difficult to exploit, cordyceps are extremely expensive. "This is one of the most valuable biological products in the world, bringing significant revenue to hundreds of thousands of harvesters," wrote Stanford University scientists in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

In recent years, the number of cordyceps has been significantly reduced, leading to higher prices. In Beijing (China), cordyceps are three times more expensive than gold, SCMP reported.

Cordyceps is said to be "medicinal herbs" in oriental medicine.(Photo: SCMP).

To find out the reason for the shortage of cordyceps, Stanford University scientists surveyed 40 collectors and traders. They also examined published scientific works, including interviews with more than 800 people in Nepal, Bhutan, India and China. The elements of weather, geography and environmental conditions are also analyzed.

"Using the data of two decades and four countries, we found that the number of cordyceps decreased sharply. Besides over-exploitation, it was also a cause, " the authors said.

Cordyceps occurs only above 3,500 meters above sea level and form when parasitic fungi on butterfly larvae kill the host. To grow, Cordyceps requires a cold environment but the ground does not freeze permanently.

"Winter temperatures are significantly warmer from 1979 to 2013, causing Cordyceps to be affected," explains Stanford University team. Among the four countries of Nepal, Bhutan, India and China around the Himalayas, Bhutan has the warmest climate with average winter temperatures rising from 3.5 to 4 degrees.

In addition, Cordyceps freeze does not move to the high mountains to cope with climate change, therefore, it is reduced in number.

At the risk of extinct cordyceps, scientists recommend that people should switch to other herbs. In addition to environmental impacts, scarce cordyceps also cause economic difficulties and conflicts between individuals who work on collection. In 2011, 19 Nepalese were convicted of killing a group of farmers during the winter-spring conflict.

What is cordyceps?

Cordyceps is a precious oriental medicine that is essentially a parasitic form of the Ophiocordyceps sinensis fungus of the Ascomycetes fungus on the larvae of some butterflies in the genus Thitarodes Viette (previously classified in the genus Hepialus Fabricius, 1775). The medicinal properties of the drug have been shown to be due to Ophiocordyceps sinensis extracts. It has long been used in traditional Chinese medicine and traditional Tibetan medicine .

The name "Cordyceps" comes from the fact that when summer mushroom Ophiocordyceps sinensis sprouted from the head of the worm, it emerged from the ground. In winter, look at this pair of animals like insects (insects), and in the summer they look more like a plant (herb) than.