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Cordyceps sinensis (wild caterpillar fungus)

Ophiocordyceps sinensis

Medicinal Mushrooms

What cordyceps sinensis (wild caterpillar fungus) may help with

Ranked by how strong the human evidence is — best supported first.

Best supportedExercise performanceNot enough evidence· 4 sources

Then, in order

About Cordyceps sinensis (wild caterpillar fungus)

The fungus that parasitises ghost moth larvae on the Tibetan plateau, harvested as a mummified caterpillar with a fungal stroma. It cannot be cultivated commercially, which is the single most important fact about products bearing its name.

This is the material of Tibetan and Chinese tradition, and it is essentially absent from the supplement market. It has never been successfully cultivated at scale, wild harvest is a scramble on high-altitude grassland, and prices reach tens of thousands of dollars per kilogram — several times the price of silver. Anything sold in a capsule at supermarket prices is either Cordyceps militaris, a fermented mycelial strain such as Cs-4, or something else entirely. Two additional problems attach to the genuine article: heavy metal accumulation, with arsenic levels high enough that Chinese regulators withdrew health-food approval for some products, and adulteration with lead-weighted or otherwise doctored specimens. There is also an ecological dimension, with declining yields and documented pressure on the alpine ecosystems where it grows.

Sold as
Whole dried specimen (rare and costly), Powder claiming wild origin, Cs-4 fermented mycelium sold under this name
Standardised to
No meaningful standardisation exists for a wild-harvested material of variable origin — a product without this marker may not resemble what was studied.
Also known as
Yarsagumba, Dong chong xia cao, Chinese caterpillar fungus, Himalayan gold

Regulation: Sold as a dietary supplement in the US with no pre-market efficacy review and no verification of species identity. Chinese authorities have raised arsenic concerns about caterpillar fungus products, and the species is listed as vulnerable with harvest restrictions in Bhutan, Nepal and parts of China.

What the research used

The amounts, forms and durations published trials of Cordyceps sinensis (wild caterpillar fungus) actually administered.

These are the amounts published trials administered — not a recommendation, and not a dose to copy. Trial participants were screened, supervised and given a characterised preparation. What is in a retail bottle is frequently not what was studied, and the amount that suits one person is not general advice.

  • Studied for Traditional and small clinical use

    3000–9000 mg

    Not enough

    Dried fungus or decoction, daily

    Figures from traditional practice and small Chinese studies. Because product identity cannot be verified and the genuine material is almost never what is sold, no dose can be considered established.

This is general information about food, not medical advice. It cannot diagnose, treat or replace guidance from a clinician who knows your history.

When it was taken

Each window says whether a trial compared it against an alternative, or whether it is convention and pharmacology. Most timing advice is the second kind.

None of the timings below were directly compared in a trial. They reflect how the research happened to dose, or what the pharmacology implies — which is not the same as a timing being better.

  • Any time

    Not enough

    No timing research exists for this species in any form.

    Timing was not directly compared. This reflects convention or how the compound behaves in the body, not a trial showing this window works better.

The evidence in depth

Best supported: Not enough

What each association actually rests on, and the papers behind it. A rating describes the state of the research, not how promising the supplement sounds. How we rate evidence.

Exercise performance

Muscle & Physical Performance
Not enough evidence

Reputation for endurance derives from anecdote about Chinese runners in the 1990s and from small studies that used cultivated substitutes rather than the wild fungus. There is no adequate trial of authentic Ophiocordyceps sinensis.

Not enough evidence. Not enough human research to say anything useful yet.

View the 4 sources

Deep research mode adds each paper’s own conclusion and stated limitations.

Kidney and urinary function

Kidney & Urinary Health
Not enough evidence

Chinese trials in chronic kidney disease and after transplant have been reviewed and judged low quality, with small samples and unclear preparations. Nothing usable can be concluded.

Not enough evidence. Not enough human research to say anything useful yet.

View the 4 sources

Deep research mode adds each paper’s own conclusion and stated limitations.

Things to know

Interactions, contraindications and dose limits, most serious first. Concentrated extracts interact with medication in ways the whole plant does not, so this section carries more weight here than it does on a food page.

  • Worth knowing

    The product almost certainly is not the species on the label

    Wild Ophiocordyceps sinensis cannot be cultivated and sells for thousands of dollars per kilogram. Capsules sold cheaply under this name contain Cordyceps militaris, a fermented mycelium such as Cs-4, or unidentified material. Paying for one and receiving another is the normal case here, not the exception.

  • Worth knowing

    Arsenic and heavy metal contamination

    Caterpillar fungus accumulates arsenic from the soil, and measured levels in some commercial products have exceeded food limits by a wide margin. Chinese regulators withdrew health-food approval for certain caterpillar fungus preparations on this basis. Adulteration with added metal to increase weight has also been documented.

  • Worth knowing

    Conservation and harvest pressure

    Yields have declined across the Himalayan range under harvesting pressure, the species is assessed as vulnerable, and collection is restricted or contested in several countries. Demand from the supplement market is part of that pressure.

  • Interaction

    Immunosuppressant interaction

    Interacts withCiclosporin, tacrolimus, other immunosuppressants

    Immunomodulating activity makes it a poor choice alongside transplant immunosuppression or for anyone with an autoimmune condition on treatment.

Evidence ratings on this page: 2 not enough evidence.

Supplements are sold in the US without pre-market review of efficacy or safety. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to take Cordyceps sinensis (wild caterpillar fungus), or a dose to follow.