Cordyceps sinensis has long been used in Chinese medicine to treat numerous illnesses, promote longevity,relieve exhaustion and increase athletic prowess.The medicinal preparation from the fruiting bodies of C. sinensis is named dong-chong-xia-caowhich translates as winter worm and summer grass. C.sinensis infects the larvae of the sphinx moth, Hepialus armoricanus, found only in the highlands of the Himalayan region, and the larva hibernates under-ground through the winter. The fungus kills the infected host and grows throughout the cadaver, and in the summer, a rod-like stroma of the fungus grows out from the mummi®ed shell of the dead host. Cordyceps species are generally known as the `caterpillar fungus' due to this characteristic parasitism of the living larvae of insects