University Receives Cordyceps Patent
12 November 2012
The State Intellectual Property Office in China has granted an invention patent to the University of Macau’s Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences (ICMS) for a project the university calls “A Specific Quality Control Method Based on the Characteristics of Natural Cordyceps Sinensis.”
Cordyceps sinensis, known as “caterpillar fungus” in English, is a high-value medicinal fungus which, in nature, grows on the larva of ghost moths at an altitude of 3,600-4,800 metres in the Himalayan regions of China, Tibet, Nepal and India. The fungus invades the larva, kills it and grows out of the larva’s head during the spring. It is a popular element of traditional Chinese medicine used to treat ailments including insomnia, hypertension, tuberculosis and pneumonia and is considered an important anti-aging agent by Chinese medicine practitioners.
Receiving the patent is a substantial step in developing artificial cultured Cordyceps sinensis for Macau’s health industry, says the Macau Daily News.
Research undertaken at the university has resulted in a version of Cordyceps sinensis more similar to that occurring in nature than what has been previously synthesized, the newspaper reported. The research is expected to increase the quality of manufactured versions of the rare medicine and to enhance development of Macau’s health products industry.
