shortly Posted October 25, 2010 ABC1 8:30pm Thursday, October 28 2010 Tibetan Eldorado The strange half-vegetable, half-animal cordyceps sinensis has made Tibet the new El Dorado as pharmaceutical companies in Hong Kong and drug purveyors from Southeast Asia rush for its amazing properties. The unique combination of wild mushroom and caterpillar grows at 4000m on the high plateaux of Tibet and sells for about 25,000 Euros a kilogram (Aust $35,000). It has been taken by the Chinese and Tibetans for years for its supreme healing qualities and stimulating effect on the immune system. Pandering to the Asian fantasies about aphrodisiacs, it has also become known as the 'viagra' of the Himalayas. It is transforming Tibet’s economy and its harvesting culture, as nomads and families rush to the high slopes each Spring to trawl for the valuable creature. But while medical experts are still uncertain what is in the amazing little fungal creature that gives it its anti-tumour, anti-viral properties, Western laboratory technology may be able to reproduce millions of doses of the medicines extracted from cultivated cordyceps. It is a serious potential threat to the boosted Tibetan economy benefiting from this new industry. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hyphal Posted October 25, 2010 Interesting! Can't wait to watch this, thanks heaps for posting the info. Funnily enough they don't report about the environmental problems associated with overharvesting of these precious little fungi. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mescalito Posted October 27, 2010 Sounds cool will be glued thanx! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
