Chinese intruded Indian territory to gather caterpillar fungus: report

Several makes an attempt of Chinese intrusion into Indian territory have been to gather Cordyceps, also referred to as caterpillar fungus or the Himalayan Gold, an costly natural drug in China, in line with the Indo-Pacific Centre for Strategic Communications (IPCSC).

Chinese troopers have been accused of illegally getting into Arunachal Pradesh in the hunt for the fungus which is claimed to be costlier than gold in China. Cordyceps is especially discovered within the Indian Himalayas and at larger altitudes of the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau in southwestern China.

Globally, in 2022, the Cordyceps market has been valued at USD 1,072.50 million. China is the biggest producer in addition to exporter of Cordyceps.

However, in line with IPCSC, “In the last two years, the Cordyceps harvest has waned in Qinghai, the largest producing region in China as the fungus grew scarce. At the same time, demand for the highly prized Cordyceps has increased sharply in the last decade as an emerging Chinese middle class seeks it to cure everything from kidney disorders to impotence, despite a lack of scientific evidence.”

High demand and restricted assets have led to the fungus’ overharvesting, consultants say.

“Output fell to 41,200 kg in 2018 from 43,500 kg a year earlier, a 5.2 percent slump, revealed data from the bureau. That’s a fraction of the 150,000 kg reported by provincial media for 2010 and 2011,” in line with the IPCSC.

Chinese Cordyceps firms in Qinghai have lately been paying the locals tens of millions of yuans to dam off complete mountains for Cordyceps harvesting.

Surveys present that the annual Cordyceps harvest has declined. This in line with the collectors, could be attributed to overharvesting.

According to IPCSC: “Some towns in the Himalayas rely on collecting and selling this fungus for a living. In fact, experts say that up to 80 percent of household income in the Tibetan Plateau and Himalayas can come from selling caterpillar fungus.”

The Cordyceps mushroom is well-known for its grotesque consuming habits: it’s well-known that its spores kill bugs by infecting them, and the useless bugs’ flesh sprouts totally developed fruiting our bodies of the Cordyceps fungus.

The bioactive molecule cordycepin present in cordyceps has nice therapeutic potential and will someday be became an efficient new antiviral and anti-cancer therapy.

The mushrooms are uncommon within the wild, and up till now, rising wholesome Cordyceps within the lab has been tough, hindering scientific analysis.

However, Professor Mi Kyeong Lee of Chungbuk National University and her staff, together with Dr Ayman Turk, have found a option to develop these elusive fungi in a managed surroundings with out shedding their efficiency. Their findings are revealed in Frontiers in Microbiology.

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