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Fungal Metabolites pp 1–22Cite as

Cordycepin: A Cordyceps Metabolite with Promising Therapeutic Potential

  • Living reference work entry
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Part of the book series: Reference Series in Phytochemistry ((RSP))

Abstract

For thousands of years, natural products from medicinal mushroom are being used for the cure of different lethal diseases. Among the huge category of medicinal herbs, the genus Cordyceps is gaining special attention due to its broad spectrum of biological activity. Cordycepin, a nucleoside analogue, is the main bioactive ingredient of Cordyceps and known to mediate a variety of pharmacological effects. Many chemically modified cordycepin derivatives have been reported which have shown more potential therapeutic effects. With the advancement in fermentation techniques, it has been possible to produce the higher cordycepin product. The modern techniques enabled the researchers for an easy detection and extraction of cordycepin from fermentation medium. Being a nucleoside analogue, cordycepin can interfere with the DNA/RNA biosynthesis and acts as a potential candidate for the treatment of the dreadful diseases such as cancer. Besides, cordycepin have also been known to modulate a variety of signaling pathways involved in apoptosis, proliferation, metastasis, angiogenesis, and inflammation. This chapter will describe the chemistry, production, detection, and extraction strategies of cordycepin. In addition, variety of therapeutic applications of cordycepin with all possible molecular mechanisms of actions have also been summarized.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biotechnology, Maharishi Markandeshwar University, Mullana-Ambala, 133203, Haryana, India

    Hardeep Singh Tuli & Anil K. Sharma

  2. Department of Medical Microbiology, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, 160012, Punjab, India

    Dharambir Kashyap

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  1. Hardeep Singh Tuli
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  2. Dharambir Kashyap
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  3. Anil K. Sharma
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Correspondence to Anil K. Sharma .

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  1. Groupe d'Etude des Substances Végétales, Université de Bordeaux Ins. des Sciences de la Vigne et du Vin, Villenave d'Ornon, France

    Jean-Michel Merillon

  2. Botany Department, M.L.Sukhadia University, Badgaon, India

    Kishan Gopal Ramawat

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Tuli, H.S., Kashyap, D., Sharma, A.K. (2015). Cordycepin: A Cordyceps Metabolite with Promising Therapeutic Potential. In: Merillon, JM., Ramawat, K. (eds) Fungal Metabolites. Reference Series in Phytochemistry. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-19456-1_2-1

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