Nutritionists have since joined with manufacturers to produce supplements using fermentation from this rare mushroom. One such product is CordyMax®, made with a formula recognized in China as the fermented Cordyceps mushroom mycelial product. CordyMax® has been placed under intellectual property protection, and only one company has the license for it outside of China. The company, Pharmanex, Inc., suggests that CordyMax® may be used by people with busy and hectic lifestyles and the elderly-- i.e., those desiring greater stamina and vitality levels without stimulation of the central nervous system.
A New Study
The research team behind the development of CordyMax® will be presenting the scientific foundation of their supplement before one of the world's leading meeting of physiologists. The study sought to evaluate the effects of CordyMax (a mycelial fermentation product of Cordyceps sinensis) on enhancing exercise capability and endurance, and on acting against fatigue in healthy humans.
Their presentation, "CordyMax Enhances Aerobic Capability, Endurance Performance, and Exercise Metabolism in Healthy, Mid-age to Elderly Sedentary Humans," will be part of the American Physiological Society's (APS) ( www.the-aps.org ) annual scientific conference, Experimental Biology 2003, being held April 17-21, 2004, at the Washington, D.C. Convention Center. The researchers are Jia-Shi Zhu, M.D., Ph.D. and James Rippe, M.D. from Pharmanex, LLC, Provo, UT, and Rippe Lifestyle Institute, Shrewsbury, MA.
Methodology
This was a clinical trial with a double-blind, randomized, placebo controlled design. One hundred thirty one volunteers were participated in this trial. These individuals were healthy, sedentary males and females of age 40-70. The study employed sports physiology methods, measuring exercise capacity, endurance performance, and exercise related metabolic alterations before, in the middle of, and after the 12-week study treatment with CordyMax (3 g/day).
Results
The researchers found:
(1) Maximal exercise
(2) Sub-maximal, endurance exercise
(3) General conditions
Conclusion
Numerous supplements are introduced to consumers offering only anecdotal evidence that these products are effective and safe. This study provides scientific evidence that CordyMax® is effective in enhancing aerobic exercise capability, endurance exercise performance, and exercise metabolism and alleviating fatigue in healthy humans.
The American Physiological Society (APS) is America's oldest biomedical sciences research society. The not-for-profit society, with some 11,000 members, is the publisher of 14 scientific journals, including the American Journal of Physiology, which has been published since 1898.
Editor's Note: For further information or to schedule an interview with a member of the research team, please contact Donna Krupa at 703-967-2751 (cell), 703-527-7357 (office) or at djkrupa1@aol.com . Or contact the APS newsroom at 202-249-4009 between 9:00 AM and 6:00 PM EDT April 17-21, 2004.