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Cordycepin: A Biotherapeutic Molecule from Medicinal Mushroom

Summary

This research examines cordycepin, a powerful medicinal compound found in Cordyceps mushrooms that shows promise for treating various diseases. The compound works in multiple ways to fight cancer, reduce inflammation, boost immunity, and protect various organs. The study details how this compound can be produced and purified for medical use. Impacts on everyday life: • Provides a natural alternative treatment option for various cancers and inflammatory conditions • Offers potential new medications with fewer side effects than conventional drugs • Could lead to more affordable treatments through optimized production methods • Demonstrates the value of traditional medicines in modern healthcare • Shows promise for preventing and treating common age-related diseases

Background

Cordyceps is one of the most well-known medicinal mushrooms with numerous bioactive compounds possessing a wide range of therapeutic activities. It has been used for many years as medicinal food particularly in China and different regions of Southeast Asia. Cordycepin, a nucleoside compound extracted from different Cordyceps species, is considered one of the most important bioactive metabolites of this fungus.

Objective

This review aimed to examine recent published research on cordycepin chemistry, production, extraction, isolation, purification, biotherapeutic activities and applications. The study focused on understanding the mechanisms of action, pharmacokinetics, and therapeutic potential of cordycepin as well as optimizing its production and extraction methods.

Results

The review found that cordycepin exhibits multiple therapeutic activities including anticancer, antitumor, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, hypoglycemic and immunomodulatory effects. Various production methods were identified, with optimal conditions including pH 5.5, temperature 25°C, and specific medium compositions yielding up to 846 mg/L of cordycepin. Multiple extraction and purification techniques were found effective, with some achieving over 95% purity. The compound was found to work through various mechanisms including interference with RNA synthesis, modulation of the mTOR pathway, and regulation of inflammatory mediators.

Conclusion

Cordycepin shows significant potential as a therapeutic agent for treating various diseases, particularly cancer. While substantial research has been conducted on its production and therapeutic applications, further studies are still needed to improve production processes at both upstream and downstream levels, as well as for scaling up and industrialization. Additional investigation is also required to understand the correlation between cordycepin and other bioactive ingredients to optimize production processes.
  • Published in:Biology of Macrofungi,
  • Study Type:Review,
  • Source: 10.1007/978-3-030-02622-6_16
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