Effects of Cordyceps Militaris Mycelia on in Vitro Rumen Microbial Fermentation (Report‪)‬

INTRODUCTION Cordyceps species are medical fungi well known for their pharmacological actions such as immunomodulatory (Koh et al., 2002; Yu et al., 2003), anti-inflammatory (Yu et al., 2004a, b), antitumor (Nakamura et al., 1999), antifungal (Kneifel et al., 1977) and antibacterial (Ahn et al., 2000) activities, and contain biologically active components such as nucleosides (cordycepin; 3'-deoxyadenosine, and adenosine), polysaccharides and ergosterol (Li et al., 2006). The typical Coryceps used in oriental medicine was Chinese C. sinensis which forms a fruiting body using the larva of a moth as the host. Because natural C. sinensis is rare and expensive, however, techniques for artificial cultivation of Cordyceps species other than the natural Cordyceps have been developed and, thus commercial products of Cordyceps are now widely available. C. militaris is a related species of C. sinensis commonly used as a substitute of the natural Cordyceps (Li et al., 2006).