In 2006, The BBC Earth serieswith David Attenborough narrating the chilling sequence, he first revealed to the world of What was capable of a parasite fungus in the body of a creature. We had never been participants in something like that, and the guest that carried the disoriented ant of the colony was going to turn the scene into television history. Years later, the clip with the spores of the parasite fungus cordyceps served as inspiration for the game ‘The Last of Us’, and the subsequent series. In the real world, Cordyceps is also dangerous.
A fungus wrapped in myth. The story I told Bloomberg in a report. In the extreme heights of the Himalayas, The cordyceps sinensisknown as “Yartsa Gunbu” in Tibetan or “Caterpillar Fungus”, has been used for centuries in traditional Asian medicine. Its peculiar origin, growing like a parasite inside the ghost moth larvaeand his reputation as a powerful aphrodisiac, they have made it one of the most coveted natural products in the world, reaching exorbitant prices that can reach up to $ 136,000 per pound in Chinese markets.
Popularly known as the “Viagra del Himalaya”, the fungus has generated a whole multimillionary industry behind With a growing global demand, especially in China, South Korea and Japan, where it is a symbol of status and prestige.
Booming market of falsifications. While in the West the cordyceps can be found in cheap supplements in stores like Amazon, most of these products do not contain the real fungus, but synthetic versions or similar species without the alleged desired effects.
In fact, Stanford University research estimates that The global cordyceps industry moves up to 11 billion dollars annuallyalthough much of this trade is based on imitations. According to German mycologist Daniel Winklerwho has spent two decades studying the fungus in the Tibet, authentic products are rare and are sold almost exclusively in Asia at prohibitive prices.
Nepal: an economy around the fungus. In Katmandú markets, each store seems to sell the precious fungus, with merchants such as KC Bastola, who offers different levels of quality with prices ranging between $ 10 per piece and $ 4,000 per poundstill relatively low values compared to the final price after the passage of intermediaries.
As we said, Here the business is dominated by Chinese buyers, Many of them identifiable for their luxury clothing, which acquire large amounts of cordyceps to resell them in their country of origin, where the government imposes strict regulations on their harvest and trade. We talk about a trade that has generated an economic boom in rural communities of Nepal and Tibet, where Collectors like Tek Bhadur Budha manage to earn up to $ 15,000 a yearenough money to keep their families and send their children to study in the capital.
The danger: more deaths than in Everest. Cordyceps sinensis collection It is an extremely dangerous job. The reason? It is carried out in rugged land, more than 4,500 meters altitude, where collectors spend whole days looking for tiny fungi, often on knees and with temperatures below zero.
Every spring, entire villages leave their homes and set up improvised camps on the mountaineven closing schools for children and adolescents to participate in the collection. A fact to put it in context: in recent years, more people have died hunting Yartsa than climbing Mount Everest, victims of extreme cold, avalanches, sudden floods and violent clashes between collectors.
Everything is worth. For its part, the Dalai Lama has described the cordyceps industry as a crisis for Buddhist culture because its high value has caused violence, exploitation and corruption in the region. Criminal gangs have murdered collectors and have appropriated harvest territorieswhile the use of child labor is an extended practice, with minors dedicated to looking for fungi in extreme conditions.
In addition, the lack of regulation allows intermediaries to buy the fungus at very low prices, leaving collectors at a disadvantage against a market dominated by large merchants.
Is it really an aphrodisiac? Despite their reputation as sexual stimulating, scientific studies They have found little conclusive evidence that cordyceps has a direct impact on libido. An eight -week study only identified that Consumers felt more energy, but without significant improvements in sexual desire.
It happens that the placebo effect and cultural beliefs play a key role in their consumption. According to anthropologist Tawni Tidwellalthough the fungus does not improve its own sexual desire, You have seen notable results in peoplewith men reporting stronger and more lasting erections, and women affirming an increase in their sensitivity.
On the other sidewalk, Tashi Tsering doctor, defender of cordyceps, argues that The fungus harmonizes the five cosmic elements (Earth, fire, water, air and space) and that its effectiveness lies in an energy balance rather than in a direct biochemical action. That said, its consumption is not exempt from side effects. In fact, the author of the Bloomberg report said that after drinking a cup of yartsa tea experienced an intense gastrointestinal reaction.
The ecological impact of the fungus. It is another cordyceps problems. The growing fungus market has generated an environmental crisis in the Himalayas. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has cataloged it as a species vulnerable to extinctiongiven that Demand has led to overexploitation which exceeds the natural capacity of regeneration of the ecosystem.
More than 130 tons of cordyceps per year are collectedcausing soil erosion, abnormalities in snow cycles and changes in ecological balance. In fact, experts warn that if the situation continues, the wild populations of the fungus could disappear in a few decades.
Illegal regulation and traffic. Unlike Nepal, where cordyceps collection follows a more open model, China strictly regulates its harvest and sale. This results in Many Chinese merchants cross the border illegally to acquire large quantities of the fungus in Nepal and then traffic it back to China inside suitcases or vehicles.
According to Rajendra BajagainMember of the Parliament of Nepal, this activity is out of control, with foreign buyers promoting a black market that generates corruption and violence, while the nepal government does not implement effective measures to regulate the industry.
A luxury and status symbol. In China, South Korea and Japan, the fungus has ceased to be just a natural remedy for become a luxury and ostentation article. It is given in important events and festivities, and Its high price has made it a symbol of wealth and sophisticationwith carefully packaged and marketed versions as the “authentic gold of the Himalayas.”
According to Biodiversity Specialist Yi Shaoliang, cordyceps fever is due to its cultural value than to its medical effectiveness, comparing it with A form of modern witchcraft where belief in its possession is what really keeps it relevant.
While the scientific community continues to investigate the real effects of cordyceps, biotechnologists of the University of Oxford and the Pharmaceutical Nucana PLC They are exploring their potential in the treatment of cancer and cardiovascular diseases. However, its future is still in doubt: its uncontrolled exploitation puts both the Himalayas ecosystem at risk Like the social stability of collecting communities. In this context, the key question is to know if it will be sustained as some type of revolutionary medicine, or “dies of success” like so many other coveted natural products that disappear with their myth.
Image | ITOLDYA, Hagen Graebner, Tripodandcamera
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