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Review

Biomass and Cordycepin Production by the Medicinal Mushroom Cordyceps militaris—A Review of Various Aspects and Recent Trends towards the Exploitation of a Valuable Fungus

by
Dimitrios Kontogiannatos
*,
Georgios Koutrotsios
,
Savvina Xekalaki
and
Georgios I. Zervakis
*
Laboratory of General and Agricultural Microbiology, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 11855 Athens, Greece
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
J. Fungi 2021, 7(11), 986; https://doi.org/10.3390/jof7110986
Submission received: 31 October 2021 / Revised: 14 November 2021 / Accepted: 17 November 2021 / Published: 19 November 2021
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mushrooms—Mycotherapy and Mycochemistry 2.0)

Abstract

Cordyceps militaris is an entomopathogenic ascomycete with similar pharmacological importance to that of the wild caterpillar fungus Ophiocordyceps sinensis. C. militaris has attracted significant research and commercial interest due to its content in bioactive compounds beneficial to human health and the relative ease of cultivation under laboratory conditions. However, room for improvement exists in the commercial-scale cultivation of C. militaris and concerns issues principally related to appropriate strain selection, genetic degeneration of cultures, and substrate optimization. In particular, culture degeneration—usually expressed by abnormal fruit body formation and reduced sporulation—results in important economic losses and is holding back investors and potential growers (mainly in Western countries) from further developing this highly promising sector. In the present review, the main factors that influence the generation of biomass and metabolites (with emphasis on cordycepin biosynthesis) by C. militaris are presented and evaluated in conjunction with the use of a wide range of supplements or additives towards the enhancement of fungal productivity in large-scale cultivation processes. Moreover, physiological and genetic factors that increase or reduce the manifestation of strain degeneration in C. militaris are outlined. Finally, methodologies for developing protocols to be used in C. militaris functional biology studies are discussed.
Keywords: Cordyceps militaris; Ophiocordyceps sinensis; functional food; nutraceuticals; medicinal mushroom; cordycepin Cordyceps militaris; Ophiocordyceps sinensis; functional food; nutraceuticals; medicinal mushroom; cordycepin

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MDPI and ACS Style

Kontogiannatos, D.; Koutrotsios, G.; Xekalaki, S.; Zervakis, G.I. Biomass and Cordycepin Production by the Medicinal Mushroom Cordyceps militaris—A Review of Various Aspects and Recent Trends towards the Exploitation of a Valuable Fungus. J. Fungi 2021, 7, 986. https://doi.org/10.3390/jof7110986

AMA Style

Kontogiannatos D, Koutrotsios G, Xekalaki S, Zervakis GI. Biomass and Cordycepin Production by the Medicinal Mushroom Cordyceps militaris—A Review of Various Aspects and Recent Trends towards the Exploitation of a Valuable Fungus. Journal of Fungi. 2021; 7(11):986. https://doi.org/10.3390/jof7110986

Chicago/Turabian Style

Kontogiannatos, Dimitrios, Georgios Koutrotsios, Savvina Xekalaki, and Georgios I. Zervakis. 2021. "Biomass and Cordycepin Production by the Medicinal Mushroom Cordyceps militaris—A Review of Various Aspects and Recent Trends towards the Exploitation of a Valuable Fungus" Journal of Fungi 7, no. 11: 986. https://doi.org/10.3390/jof7110986

APA Style

Kontogiannatos, D., Koutrotsios, G., Xekalaki, S., & Zervakis, G. I. (2021). Biomass and Cordycepin Production by the Medicinal Mushroom Cordyceps militaris—A Review of Various Aspects and Recent Trends towards the Exploitation of a Valuable Fungus. Journal of Fungi, 7(11), 986. https://doi.org/10.3390/jof7110986

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