Cordyceps-Based Bioactives: Product Development and Marketing

For hundreds of years, mushrooms have been used as a high-value food based on their high nutritional content of many essential macro- and micronutrients. In addition, they have also been one of the major components of traditional medicine in different cultures as a rich source of high-value bioactive compounds. Cordyceps in particular is one of the top-most-priced and most wanted mushrooms based on its unique content of many high-value bioactive compounds with many therapeutic claims. This type of mushroom has been traded for a long time in dried form and is applied in many traditional herbal markets, mainly in some Asian countries such as China, Japan, India, and Nepal. Nowadays, based on many years of research into the chemical composition and bio-biofunctionality of the active ingredients, different types of bioactive compounds have been isolated and studied in depth both in vitro and in vivo. Nowadays, beside the big market of Cordyceps trade in the form of fruiting bodies or crude extract for normal oral consumption, it has also become an essential functional ingredient in high-end products in the nutraceutical, cosmeceutical, and pharmaceutical markets. The growth of the Cordyceps market is driven by the increased public awareness of the need for natural and safe ingredients in wellness products. This chapter will provide comprehensive information about the bioactive ingredients of this mushroom, product development, and market growth of Cordyceps-based products.