DIPANJAN GHOSH AND SREEPARNA GHOSH Yar Tsa Gumba is a very costly and rarely occurring RTICLE A fungus of enormous medicinal importance. Due to over exploitation, illegal trade, and unprecedented human EATURE negligence, Yar Tsa Gumba is F on the brink of extinction from its natural abodes in India. of the Chinese Ming Dynasty, used it to appears yellowish orange to brown in develop powerful potions. Besides, the colour. The mature ascocarp bears many T the end of June 2011, during Chinese and the Tibetans have been using small, flask-shaped perithecia containing Aour sojourn to Johar Valley in the Yar Tsa Gumba as an expensive (as costly asci. Each ascus is filled with thread-like KKumaun Himalayas, we made out for the as gold!) ingredient of their traditional ascospores (about 5-10 µ long), which ffirst time a few well-preserved specimens medicines, since the 15th century. usually break into fragments, taken oof Yar Tsa Gumba at the Tribal Heritage Cordyceps is a type of by the wind during dispersal and are MMuseum in Munsyari. Later, we found it entomopathogenic fungus growing presumably infective to fresh moth larvae. iin a wild state in the Ralam Bugyal near parasitically on insects and other As the fruiting body of the fungus tthe Ralam village, about 40 kilometers arthropods. However, C. sinensis emerges from the head of the larva in aaway from the Munsyari Township. parasitizes upon the larvae of Himalayan summer and resembles a grass sprout, ‘Yar Tsa Gumba’, as it is known in Bat moth (Thitarodes armoricanus Ober) this fungus is locally referred to as TTibetan, is a very costly and over-exploited and forms a composite body made up ‘keeraghaas’. Its Chinese name ‘Yar Tsa ffungus belonging to the sac fungi group. of fungus and insect caterpillar. For Gumba’ also supports this feature of the IIt is binomially known as Cordyceps this reason, it is commonly known as fungus, which means ‘winter insect and ssinensis (Berk.) Sacc. The generic name ‘caterpillar mushroom’. summer grasses’. ‘‘Cordyceps’ is derived from two Latin The moth larva forms a cocoon in wwords, ‘cord’ meaning ‘club’ and ‘ceps’ the winter and finally hibernates in the Yar Tsa mmeaning ‘head’. Among the 600 reported ground. When the fungal mycelium finds sspecies of the genus, C. sinensis is highly Gumba the buried caterpillar, it invades into its vvalued for its medicinal property. body and eventually colonizes the host. needs to be Cordyceps is believed to provide The mycelium’s growth mummifies the protected eenormous physical power after caterpillar, and then forms into a fruiting cconsumption. The power of Yar Tsa body that sprouts off the back of the from GGumba was discovered long ago in the caterpillar’s head. The elongated fruiting extinction TTibetan mountain pastures. Chinese body, known as ascocarp, is cylindrical, hherdsmen observed their cattle and dark brown to black, unbranched (or for the sake llivestock became very energetic after sometimes branched), and ultimately of the entire eeating a grass-like mushroom. Even transformed into a club-shaped stroma. tthe older animals became spry. About The ‘root’ of the organism, i.e., the larval human race a thousand years ago royal physicians body pervaded by the fungal mycelium, 27 SCIENCE REPORTER, AUGUST 2014 FEATURE ARTICLE Native Himalayan habitat of Yar Tsa Gumba or Keeraghaas at an elevation of approximately 4000 meters (Photo: Sreeparna Ghosh) found in Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet, and in the Sichuan, Gansu, Hubei, Zhejiang, Shanxi, Guizhou, Qinghai, and Yunnan provinces of China. In India, Cordyceps occurs in a very scattered fashion throughout the Himalayas from Eastern to Western Memencho Lake, a natural lake at a height of regions including the Central Himalayas. 3500 meters in East Sikkim, is a repository of In Arunachal Pradesh, Cordyceps is Cordyceps sinensis (Photo: Siddhartha Goswami) found mainly in the higher altitudes of Tawang area. In Sikkim it is found in areas like Green Lake, Dzongri, Thamjey, Menmecho Lake, Nathu La Pass, Doman Valley, and Tholung Pass. Occurrence of Cordyceps has been reported from the cold arid environmental zones of Himachal Pradesh also. However, the most productive region for Cordyceps is in the alpine meadows of the Chipla Kedar, Darma, The Relationship Controversy between the fungus and the caterpillar Vyas, and Johar valleys and Ralamdhura Although the viable fungal spore is occurs in a remote as well as inhospitable in the Kumaun Himalayas. Presently, it possibly an infectious agent that attacks environment. is known to be found in various places the moth larvae in establishing a host- Nature tends to select against a like Chipla Kot, Brahma Kot, Ultapara, pathogen relationship, it is necessary parasite, in that a parasite usually results Ghwardharp, Najari, and Nangnidhura to mention that the entomopathogenic in the death of the host. A more logical in the Dharchula-Munsiyari regions nature of Cordyceps is quite disputed. explanation for the unique pairing of Pithoragarh District and in the Niti- The biological relationship between between an insect and this fungus Mana valleys of Chamoli District of the fungus and the caterpillar is yet to would be that it is a mutually beneficial Uttarakhand. be settled. Many researchers are of the symbiosis, whereby the moth perhaps Cordyceps appears annually and opinion that C. sinensis actually has a gains an energy boost from the Cordyceps its normal harvesting period is between symbiotic relationship with the host living in its body, as is known to occur the months of May to July. At the which is mutually beneficial, rather than when other animals consume Cordyceps. advent of summer, the thawing of snow pathogenic. at the lower altitudes allows the local Himalayan bat moths live naturally Natural Abode inhabitants to more easily find the fungus in a very hostile condition and need Yar Tsa Gumba thrives in cold, grassy, while watching the wild yaks. People 3-4 years to finish their life cycles. In alpine and sub-alpine meadows on believe that the fungus grows where the general the moth caterpillar shows six the mountainous Himalayan Plateau yaks graze. During July, the fruit body instars, but they may have seven to eight between 3500-5000 meters above mean of Cordyceps gets maturity and spore instars in special conditions. The pairing sea level. Outside India, it is naturally dispersal starts. Whether Cordyceps also SCIENCE REPORTER, AUGUST 2014 28 FEATUREEATURE ARTICLERTICLE Pithoragarh – the largest business centre of Cordyceps in India (Photo: Dipanjan Ghosh) fruitsf under the snow in the more severe to relieve pain, and the symptoms of Therapeutic Applications mmonths or not, is unknown. tuberculosis and haemorrhoids, to restore Modern day medical science has general health and appetite, and to endorsed most of the traditional uses of TraditionalT Use promote longevity. Cordyceps. It is an aphrodisiac for the Traditional healers of China also C.C sinensis has a long history as a body, for both men and women. It is most recommend regular use of Cordyceps mmedicinal fungus. There are written widely used by two groups of people in to strengthen resistance to infections, rrecords outlining the medicinal uses our society – athletes and the elderly. cure backache and anaemia, and treat oof this resilient and rare fungus in Athletes take Cordyceps for jacking up colds and flues. It is also used to reduce ttraditional Chinese medicine since their performance whereas it is often cough and phlegm, shortness of breath, 6620 AD, during the Tang Dynasty. prescribed for the elderly to ease aches bronchial discomfort, and asthma. HHowever, the first scientifically reliable and pains as well as to ward off fatigue. Unlike other close relatives, such ddepiction of the Cordyceps fungus was Cordyceps is also used to treat a as truffles and morels, the ‘caterpillar wwritten in the year 1757, at the time of wide range of health problems such mushroom’ is not usually considered as QQing Dynasty, by a Tibetan scholar Wu- as cardiovascular, pulmonary, and an edible fungus, because of the tough YYiluo in the Ben Cao Congxin (a sort of respiratory diseases, renal and liver texture of its stromatic ascocarp as well MMateria Medica). dysfunction, hyposexuality, and as the small size and rarity. Traditionally hyperlipidemia. It has been successfully Yar Tsa Gumba has traditionally Cordyceps has been consumed with a bbeen used in China for centuries in used to protect the bone marrow and variety of meats in the form of a medicinal liver from damage. Cordyceps is thought vvarious ailments such as in the treatment soup. However, Cordyceps is often taken oof kidney, lung, and heart problems; to be a remedy for weakness and fatigue today with some form of vitamin C, which and is often used as an anti-depressant for iin fatigue, cancer, hiccups, and serious has been found to help the body in its iinjury as well as male and female sexual increased energy while recovering from digestion and absorption of the medicinal serious illness. ddysfunction. It is usually administered components of the fungus. The energy currency or ATP (adenosine tri-phosphate) is an energy YarTsa Gumba: a. packed molecule that actually releases Habit of the fungus energy in the living cell. Recent research – Caterpillar has revealed that consumption of association and Cordyceps increases both the cellular b. Various parts ATP level and the oxygen availability Fungal Fruit of the caterpillar in our body. So the use of Codyceps Body fungus (Sketch: may be helpful to those activities where Arnab Banik) instant energy input matters. In addition, the increased ATP level and oxygen utilization also helps in lessening high altitude sickness. Moth Larva The most remarkable feature regarding the medicinal property of C. A B sinensis is perhaps its anticancer and antitumour ability. Cordyceps is currently 29 SCIENCE REPORTER, AUGUST 2014 FEATURE ARTICLE Munsiyari – a small town of Uttarakhand in Central Himalayas, is situated at the threshold of both Johar Valley and Ralam Valley (Photo: Sreeparna Ghosh) being recommended and used by a cadaverine, diamino propane, putrescine, very rarely available naturally.