Cordyceps is a fungus (Cordyceps sinensis, the "caterpillar fungus," and the related Cordyceps militaris) used in traditional Chinese medicine, including for kidney disease. As a supplement it has been studied for exercise performance (one studied product is called Cs-4) and for kidney disease.
Also known as: Cordyceps sinensis, Ophiocordyceps sinensis, Cordyceps militaris, Cs-4, caterpillar fungus.
A 12-week exercise trial in older adults used 333 mg of Cs-4 three times a day (Chen 2010). These are study protocols, not a recommendation.
It is sold in the US as a dietary supplement. Under the 1994 dietary supplement law (DSHEA), FDA does not approve dietary supplements before they are marketed, and the maker, not FDA, is responsible for safety and labeling.
What studies show: in a pilot trial of 20 healthy adults aged 50 to 75, 12 weeks of Cs-4 raised the exercise thresholds at which lactate builds up by about 9% to 11%, with no change in maximal oxygen uptake and no change with placebo (Chen 2010). A 2014 Cochrane review of 22 trials (1,746 people) found that cordyceps added to standard care was linked to better kidney blood tests in chronic kidney disease, but said no firm conclusions could be drawn because the evidence was low quality.
Evidence in people is small. The sources here do not describe side effects or drug interactions in detail.
We could not find a single published half-life or time to peak for cordyceps that applies to a supplement dose, so we do not list one. Herbal products are mixtures of many plant compounds, so no single figure would describe them.
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