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Influence of Culture Conditions on Bioactive Compounds in Cordyceps militaris: A Comprehensive Review

Summary

Cordyceps militaris is a medicinal fungus that produces powerful health-promoting compounds used to boost energy, strengthen immunity, and fight cancer. This review explains how different growing conditions—like the type of food the fungus is grown on, light exposure, and temperature—affect which beneficial compounds it produces and how much. By optimizing these conditions, producers can create more effective products for health supplements and medicines, though more research is needed to standardize production methods.

Background

Cordyceps militaris is a medicinal fungus used in traditional oriental medicine for treating chronic fatigue, immune dysfunction, diabetes, and cancer. The production and composition of bioactive compounds including cordycepin, polysaccharides, adenosine, and ergosterol are highly influenced by cultivation conditions.

Objective

This review synthesizes current findings on how nutritional factors (carbon and nitrogen sources, trace elements) and environmental parameters (oxygen availability, pH, temperature, light) regulate C. militaris metabolite biosynthesis. It compares solid-state and liquid fermentation approaches and identifies knowledge gaps in standardized protocols and scale-up challenges.

Results

Mixed grain-insect substrates and light regulation emerged as promising methods to enhance cordycepin accumulation. Specific culture conditions optimize different metabolites: cordycepin production peaks during stationary phase, blue light enhances carotenoids, and C/N ratio influences metabolite balance. Cordycepin yields varied from 89.5 mg/g on insect larvae to 2.6 mg/g on certain residues.

Conclusion

Future research should integrate multi-omics approaches with bioprocess engineering to address knowledge gaps in metabolite regulatory networks and standardized protocols. Bridging laboratory findings with industrial-scale production requires optimized strategies for oxygen transfer, foam control, and downstream processing to advance sustainable production of C. militaris bioactive compounds.
  • Published in:Foods,
  • Study Type:Review,
  • Source: PMID: 41097576, DOI: 10.3390/foods14193408
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