ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Ethnopharmacology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1562116
Therapeutic Potential of Cordyceps militaris Cultivated with Ginkgo biloba Seeds for Alleviating Western Diet-Induced Type 2 Diabetes and Diabetic Nephropathy
Provisionally accepted
Shinn-Zong Lin1Wei-Wen Kuo2Bruce Chi-Kang Tsai1Catherine Reena Paul1Chia-Hua Kuo3Dennis Jine-Yuan Hsieh4Tsung-Jung Ho1Pei-Ying Pai5Shan-Jun Chen6
Chih-Yang Huang1,5*Kuan-Ho Lin5- 1Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital, Hualien, Taiwan
- 2China Medical University (Taiwan), Taichung, Taiwan
- 3University of Taipei, Taipei, Taiwan
- 4Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung, Taichung County, Taiwan
- 5China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan
- 6Home Run Biotechnology CO., LTD, Tainan, Taiwan
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Background:Diabetic nephropathy (DN), a leading cause of chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal disease, is a serious complication of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Current therapies primarily slow disease progression but are unable to reverse kidney damage, highlighting the need for novel therapy to treat DN.Objective: This study evaluated the therapeutic potential of Cordyceps militaris (C. militaris) cultivated on Ginkgo biloba (G. biloba) seeds in ameliorating T2DM and its complications, especially DN. A T2DM mouse model was established using ApoE knockout mice fed a Western diet (WD). Results:Treatment with the specially cultivated C. militaris ameliorated hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia and hepatic dysfunction, while mitigating T2DM-induced renal damage. Key biochemical markers, including blood glucose, triglycerides, cholesterol, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), and creatinine, were significantly improved after treatment. Histopathologic analysis revealed restored renal morphology, reduced fibrosis and decreased amyloid deposition. Mechanistic studies showed downregulation of fibrosis-related proteins such as α-SMA, COL1, TIMP-1, CTGF, TGFβ1 and fibronectin, and upregulation of E-cadherin, Smad7 and Klotho, proteins with anti-fibrotic and renoprotective properties. Conclusion:These results suggest that the specially cultivated C. militaris enhances metabolic regulation and renal repair mechanisms, effectively attenuating T2DM-induced renal damage. This unique cultivation approach enriches the bioactive properties of C. militaris and offers a promising natural therapeutic strategy for T2DM and DN. Further studies are needed to validate these results in clinical settings and to explore long-term efficacy and safety.
Keywords: Diabetes Mellitus, diabetic nephropathy, Cordyceps militaris, Ginkgo biloba seeds, Kidney
Received: 04 Feb 2025; Accepted: 28 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Lin, Kuo, Tsai, Paul, Kuo, Hsieh, Ho, Pai, Chen, Huang and Lin. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Chih-Yang Huang, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan
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