Cordyceps sinensis is well-known for its tonic effect and has been used in clinical practice since ancient times. But its chemical composition remained unclear until recently. Researches in recent years reveal that it contains varieties of components, e.g. carbohydrates, amino acids, nucleosides, acids lipids, minerals, vitamins and so on.
a. Carbohydrates
Cordyceps sinensis is a polysaccharose substance with mannite constituting 48.15 %, glucose 5.04 % and galactose 22.13 %.
b.Amino acids
It contains over 20 amino acids, such as aspartic acid, lysine, glutamic acid, cystine, alanine, threonine, proline, tyrosine, leucine, citrulline, arginine, serine, etc.
c.Nucleosides
An antibiotic substance extracted from the caterpillar fungus culture was named cordycepin, whose structure was 3-deonucleoside. The adenosine extracted from the caterpillar fungus zymotic fluid was 0.28 %.
d. Acids lipids
Analyses show that Cordyceps sinensis contains palmitic acid, oleic acid £]-linoleic acid, stearic acid, etc. The content of hexadecyl acid is 21.65 %, 1.1-diphenyl hydrazine 0.07 %, 12~18 carbon 36.11 %.
e. Minerals
Cordyceps sinensis contains more than 20 minerals, such as P, Mg, Fe, Ca, Al, Si, Zn, Mn, Se, Cu, Ti, Cr, etc.
f. Vitamins
Rich vitamin B 12 (0.25� g/100g-0.28 � g/100g) is found in Cordyceps sinensis.