Public health warnings as social engineering - the case of 'Himalayan Viagra'

****

The Chinese government public health authorities have issues warnings about the safety of cordyceps sinensis (better known across Asia by its traditional Tibetan name, yartsa gunbu, which literally translates as "summer grass, winter worm).

...a handful of noted research scientists wonder why there’s been such little scrutiny of the research backing a public health warning from China’s State Food and Drug Administration (CFDA). Citing unsafe levels of cancer-causing arsenic in the fungus, the February 2016 announcement triggered a moratorium on pilot programs designed to expand the organism’s commercial development and distribution.

Connoisseurs of public health research with see a familiar litany of bad science in these announcements - selective research, ignoring studies that challenge the official position and a barrage of popular publicity directed at the offending product. And some suggest the reason for the government's concern is political, more about social engineering than public health. Gathering yartsa gunbu - 'Himalayan Viagra' - is a lucrative business:

According to one yartsa gunbu dealer who asked to remain anonymous, a family with good harvesters stand to make as much as 1,000,000 yuan (about $150,000) within the two month harvest window.

A lucrative business entirely controlled by ethnic Tibetans. And the Chinese government might prefer these people not to control a $1billion business selling weird fungus products to gullible Chinese consumers. So long as Tibetan families with the knowledge of where and how to gather yartsa gunbu are able to live in traditional communities rather than the government's preferred urban environment some suggest there will remain a call for independence.

Or else it could just be another example of a few studies providing the justification for out of control health authorities to ban, limit, control and regulate. The good news it that, so far it ain't working:

Whether any political motivations are driving the Chinese government’s claim to public health concerns about the fungus is yet to be seen. But Professor Tsim, who continues evaluating soil samples, says any regulatory action on the fungus inevitably affects the livelihood of Tibetans. The CFDA announcement has yet to impact Hong Kong prices, he said, and one eBay seller recently posted the fungus for about $78,000 per pound.

....

Himalayan viagra - an odd story of libido, caterpillars and mushrooms

****

This is the tale of Ophiocordyceps sinesis or, if you're more poetic, the Mysterious Caterpillar Mushroom or even, as the Chinese name it - Winter Worm, Summer Grass:

It preys specifically on the larvae of several species of ghost moths in the Thitarodes genus. Spores infect the larvae while they live underground before pupating. The spores germinate and mycelium grows, killing and mummifying the larva/caterpillar. Eventually a fruiting body grows from the mummified larva and pops above ground, reminiscent of something from an awesome science fiction movie. 

So there you have it - a weird mushroom that grows from out of a dead caterpillar's head. And the Chinese can't get enough of it because it is believed to do great things for the immune system and (hence the Himalayan viagra tag) treat erectile dysfunction. And, not surprisingly, the result is that this wonderful little ecosystem is threatened by overharvesting:

“There is a similar trend in other Himalayan countries, such as China, India and Bhutan,” says Liu Xingzhong, a mycologist in the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Microbiology in Beijing. On the Tibetan plateau, for instance, the fungus harvest per unit area has dropped by 10 to 30 percent compared with three decades ago....

In one respect, this problem is a reflection of how the myths of libido are so rapacious. This little mushroom may not be as grand as a rhino or as magnificent as a tiger but its decline is for the same reason - the sex drive of Chinese men. But, just as with those great wild mammals, the heart of the problem is the tragedy of the commons - up on the Tibetan plateau no-one owns the places where the caterpillars and their mycological hosts do their thing. And the result is overharvesting and fights over 'territory'. As collectively-owned places, Chinese national parks provide no incentive to limit either the amounts harvested or the numbers of harvesters.

 

....

Friday Fungus - use the NHS not mushrooms for your healthcare!!

I’m always fairly skeptical about the medicinal claims made for food – not just because they are such a feature of the Daily Mail. And the claims made for the efficacy of various mushrooms fall into this somewhat doubtful category – which doesn’t stop the BBC treating it as some amazing scientific discovery! And mushrooms of one kind or another feature prominently in Chinese herbal medicine (nothing ‘traditional’ about this of course – more a Maoist deception).

The champion mushroom in Chinese medicine is lingzhi (Ganoderma lucidum) – more commonly referred to by its Japanese name of reishi. Its advocates propose it as a treatment for a bewildering and extensive collection of ailments! Longevity and prevention of diseases, insomnia, stress, influenza and common cold, asthma, allergies, cancer, hypertension, heart disease, high cholesterol (LDL), diabetes, headache, stomach ache, arthritis, back pain, skin care, hair loss, chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and hepatitis.

Although I suspect these claims to be stretching the point – verging on nonsense – there is some evidence that reishi acts as an immune system stimulant. And that its use in combination with chemotherapy in some cancer treatments may be effective as well as an application in the management of HIV/AIDS. However, despite these claims – and the mushroom’s widespread use – the drug lists suggest there is insufficient evidence to support these claims. And like many mushrooms the reishi may have negative side effects:

“Reishi mushroom might be safe for most people. It can cause some side effects including dryness of the mouth, throat, and nasal area along with itchiness, stomach upset, nosebleed, and bloody stools. Drinking reishi wine can cause a rash. Breathing in reishi spores can trigger allergies.”

Fungi have proven an important source of medicines especially the microfungi like penicillin. But on their own mushrooms can taste great, look fantastic, make you high and poison you. Cure you? Probably not – stick to the good old NHS!