= Early Trends to Show the Efficacy of Cordyceps militaris in Mild to Moderate COVID Inflammation

Authors: Siddharth Dubhashi, Sagar Sinha, Sankalp Dwivedi, Jaishree Ghanekar, Sameer Kadam, Parineeta Samant, Vibha Datta, Sarman Singh, Irshad H. Chaudry, Padma Gurmet, Harshawardhan Kelkar, Rakesh Mishra, Sagar Galwankar, Amit Agrawal

Journal: Cureus

Study Design: Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Participants: 65 patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 infection

Intervention:

• Cordyceps capsules (500 mg) three times a day for 15 days
• Placebo capsules three times a day for 15 days

Both groups also received standard care treatment.

Outcome Measures:

• Time to improvement of clinical symptoms
• Time to recovery of clinical symptoms
• Proportion of patients with a negative COVID-19 test by day 10
• Improvement in oxygenation indices by day 10
• Reduction of inflammatory markers
• Proportion of patients having IgG antibodies on day 16
• Length of hospital stay
• Safety assessment (hematology, biochemistry, adverse events)

Summary: The study investigated the use of Cordyceps capsules as an adjuvant therapy in patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 infection. The results showed that Cordyceps capsules, when administered alongside standard treatment, may expedite recovery in patients with mild to moderate COVID-19. The study observed a higher proportion of recoveries on day 5 and a faster improvement in clinical symptoms in the Cordyceps group compared to the placebo group. Additionally, a greater number of patients in the Cordyceps group tested negative for COVID-19 by day 10. The study also noted significant changes in certain biomarkers, suggesting potential anti-inflammatory effects of Cordyceps. Importantly, no severe adverse events were reported, indicating the safety of Cordyceps capsules as an adjuvant therapy.