Chinese anti-corruption authorities in the northwest Qinghai province have launched a three-month campaign to crack down on “Himalayan Viagra,” a fungus that is more valuable than gold and is used to bribe officials, the country’s anti-corruption watchdog, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), said in an online statement.
The fungus, a genus called Ophiocordyceps sinensis, or simply cordyceps, lives on certain caterpillars in the mountainous regions of China and Tibet and has been used by traditional healers since ancient times, according to a 2011 article published in the Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine.
It is thought to cure dozens of ailments, but it is mostly used to treat kidney disorders and male sexual problems.
There remains, however, significant scientific debate as to its medical powers. According to an article in the Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine, scientists are still unable to cultivate cordyceps in a lab, rendering its biology “a secret” and “its commercial cultivation still a dream.”
Growing only in wild, remote regions, the fungus fetches a heavy price. A cordyceps dealer told the Hong-Kong based South China Morning Post that he sells the fungus for US$47 (HK$370) per gram, about $5 more per gram than gold.“In the good old days, the price of top grade cordyceps was over HK$40,000 [US$5,097] a tael, or more than HK$1,000 [US$127] per gram,” he told the SCMP.....MORE
