Our favorite "miracle" supplement is becoming expensive because of rapidly increasing demand. It is no surprise that cordyceps sinensis is increasing in value, because in addition to its beneficial effects on alertness, energy, and overall health it also has anti-aging effects that are being supported by empirical evidence from scientific experiments. Lab mice were treated with three doses, and it was shown to significantly improve learning and memory, improve activity of red blood cells, brain and liver (Wang et al., 2004). The anti-aging effects are probably caused by antioxidant and the removal of free radicals.
The product called Brain Effect Premium is still available for £39,90, but the cost of cordyceps extract has increased by almost 1,000% since it was discovered by the western world in the early 90’s – around the same time that the Internet became available. In fact, in July of 2010 thieves attacked an employee at a Chinese apothecary and stole three jars worth approximately £23,000.
References:
Owsianik. (2010). Bird’s nests, fungus stolen in high-end B.C. heist. Available: http://jennaowsianik.com/2010/07/20/birds-nests-fungus-stolen-in-high-end-b-c-heist/
Wang YH, Ye J, Li CL, Cai SQ, Ishizaki M, Katada M. (2004). An experimental study on anti-aging action of Cordyceps extract. School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing. Available: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15506292
Zhang Y, Zhang S, Wang M, Bai F, Liu X (2010) High Diversity of the Fungal Community Structure in Naturally-Occurring Ophiocordyceps sinensis. PLoS ONE 5(12): e15570.
