野生性之冬蟲夏草或北冬蟲夏草自古以來即是珍貴藥材。近年來則普遍被當作藥膳食材。由於其來源有限，且價格昂貴，故人工培養之蟲草乃因應而生，惟彼等是否具有野生蟲草之特性功效，迄今仍缺乏科學實驗根據。因此，有必要對人工培養蟲草之機能特性作深入探討。本實驗室過去的研究發現人工培養之北冬蟲夏草萃取液(cultured Cordyceps militaris,CCM)及其多醣體對自由基有明顯捕捉性，其萃取液對LDL 氧化亦有抑制性，且CCM 所含之類黃酮含量為冬蟲夏草(Cordyceps sinensis)的兩倍。換言之，CCM 具有減緩氧化壓力的特質，惟此特性是否在細胞(in vitro)與體內(in vivo)模式系統仍具有此等生理特性？迄今仍未清楚。爰此，本計畫為一個三年期之研究，目的為：（1）以體外試驗模式(in vitro)瞭解CCM 對HepG2 細胞之氧化破壞之保護效應；（2）以體內試驗模式(in vivo)測定CCM 對大鼠之護肝效應；（3）以內皮細胞模式(in vitro)測定 CCM 對其氧化及凋亡之影響，以瞭解其保護血管氧化效應。上述各年度計畫將以野生性之北冬蟲夏草、冬蟲夏草或其菌絲體作比較。本計畫三年之研究結果，預期不僅對人工培養之北冬蟲夏草在護肝效應與抗血管氧化之生物活性將有充分之瞭解，且可提供醫藥與食品業者之應用與參考。 Cordyceps sinensis and Cordyceps militaris have been considered as precious Chinese medicine since ancient times to the present. They are used as diet supplement recently. Their prices in the market are very high due to the limitation of the products. Therefore, cultivated Cordyceps spp. has been made to meet the demand such as cultivated Cordyceps militaris (CCM). Whether CCM has the bioactive action just like natural Cordyceps militaris remains unknown. Thus, it is necessary to study the biological action of CCM. Our previous study found that CCM and their polysaccharides showed marked scavenging free radical. CCM showed significantly inhibited LDL oxidation. The contents of flavonoids in CCM were two-fold compared to the Cordyceps sinensis. In other words, CCM has a potential effect on reducing oxidative damage. However, whether the CCM still exerts their biological effect in vitro and in vivo tests is still unclear. In order to understand these questions, a three-year period study is designed. The purposes are: 1) determining the hepatoprotective effect of CCM in HepG2 cell model system; 2) studying the CCM on hepatoprotective action in vivo model system; 3) elucidating the effect of CCM on oxidative damage and apoptosis in endothelial cell. The natural Cordyceps militaris, Cordyceps sinensis and its mycelia will be used to compare to the CCM in the projects. The results of three-year study will understand and ensure the contribution of the CCM in biological action as well as the application for pharmaceutical and food industry.
