Regulation of human cytokines by Cordyceps militaris

Yong Sun; Yani Shao; Zhiguo Zhang; Lianfen Wang; Alfred M Mariga; Guangchang Pang; Chaoyu Geng; Chi-Tang Ho; Qiuhui Hu; Liyan Zhao

doi:10.1016/j.jfda.2014.01.025

Regulation of human cytokines by Cordyceps militaris

J Food Drug Anal. 2014 Dec;22(4):463-467. doi: 10.1016/j.jfda.2014.01.025. Epub 2014 Feb 28.

Authors

Yong Sun¹, Yani Shao², Zhiguo Zhang³, Lianfen Wang⁴, Alfred M Mariga⁵, Guangchang Pang⁶, Chaoyu Geng⁶, Chi-Tang Ho⁷, Qiuhui Hu², Liyan Zhao⁸

Affiliations

¹ College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China; Beijing Food Research Institute, Beijing 100162, China.
² College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China.
³ College of Food and Bioengineering, Shandong Polytechnic University, Jinan 250353, China.
⁴ Beijing Food Research Institute, Beijing 100162, China.
⁵ College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China; Department of Dairy and Food Science and Technology, Egerton University, Egerton 536, Kenya.
⁶ College of Biotechnology and Food Science, Tianjin University of Commerce, Tianjin 300134, China.
⁷ Department of Food Science, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA.
⁸ College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China. Electronic address: zhlychen@njau.edu.cn.

Abstract

Cordyceps (Cordyceps militaris) exhibits many biological activities including antioxidant, inhibition of inflammation, cancer prevention, hypoglycemic, and antiaging properties, etc. However, a majority of studies involving C. militaris have focused only on in vitro and animal models, and there is a lack of direct translation and application of study results to clinical practice (e.g., health benefits). In this study, we investigated the regulatory effects of C. militaris micron powder (3 doses) on the human immune system. The study results showed that administration of C. militaris at various dosages reduced the activity of cytokines such as eotaxin, fibroblast growth factor-2, GRO, and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1. In addition, there was a significant decrease in the activity of various cytokines, including GRO, sCD40L, and tumor necrosis factor-α, and a significant downregulation of interleukin-12(p70), interferon-γ inducible protein 10, and macrophage inflammatory protein-1β activities, indicating that C. militaris at all three dosages downregulated the activity of cytokines, especially inflammatory cytokines and chemokines. Different dosages of C. militaris produced different changes in cytokines.

Keywords: Cordyceps militaris; Cytokine reduction; Human cytokines; Human trial; Immune system.

Grants and funding

The authors acknowledge financial support from China Agriculture Research System (CARS-24).