ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Ethnopharmacology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1625045
This article is part of the Research TopicEvaluating Toxicological Risks of Traditional Medicines in Modern HealthcareView all 6 articles
Wild Cordyceps sinensis Exhibits Far Lower Arsenic Accumulation and Hepatorenal in Mice compared to Equivalent Dose of Inorganic Arsenic
Provisionally accepted
- 1Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Xining, China
- 2School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, United States
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Wild Cordyceps sinensis (C. sinensis) is a Chinese medicinal material known for its renal and pulmonary benefits. However, inorganic arsenic in wild Cordyceps sinensis may accumulate in the body following prolonged consumption; therefore, rigorous safety evaluations are needed. This study compared the impacts of wild Cordyceps sinensis at the maximum clinical dose and equivalent doses of inorganic arsenic (16.36 mg/kg) to its total arsenic dose on organ indices, arsenic accumulation, and functional and pathological changes in the liver and kidney in mice, aiming to explore the safety of consuming wild Cordyceps sinensis. Arsenic accumulation in organs was measured via ICP-MS, while serum markers of liver and kidney functions were assessed via ELISA and biochemical assay kits.Histopathology was observed through H&E staining. Compared with those in the control group, no significant adverse effects on body weight, organ indices, arsenic accumulation, liver or kidney function, or liver or kidney pathology were observed in the Cordyceps group. In contrast, inorganic arsenic exposure resulted in significant arsenic accumulation in organs, especially in the liver and kidneys (p < 0.01), liver and kidney function impairment (p < 0.01), and pathological changes, including hepatic steatosis, mild edema, balloon degeneration, and renal tubular epithelial cell edema and degeneration, with the aggregation of eosinophils in the renal capsule. These findings indicate that wild Cordyceps sinensis exhibits no detectable toxicity even at arsenic exposure levels comparable with those of inorganic arsenic. This study provides critical experimental evidence supporting the safe consumption of wild Cordyceps sinensis.
Keywords: wild Cordyceps sinensis, Inorganic arsenic, Safety, Arsenic accumulation, Liver and kidney damage
Received: 09 May 2025; Accepted: 11 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Gao, Yang, Ma, Bi, Yuancan, Li and Lixin. 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:
Xiao Yuancan, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Xining, China
Cen Li, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, United States
Wei Lixin, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Xining, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.