News & Features — 13 November 2015 at 8:36 pm

Yarsagumba: The Quest for Himalayan Viagra

Sanjaya Karki / Emergency Physician / Grande International Hospital, Nepal

Johanna Schaffner / University Leipzig / Germany

Himalayan Viagra? The fungus worth more than gold? A blessing or a curse? We reveal the secrets of Yarsagumba…

On 14 June 2014, a helicopter came swooping quickly in to land on the roof of the Department of Emergency medicine of Grande International Hospital in Nepal. The team headed straight up to the helideck to find a 24-year-old man from Dolpa with a penetrating thoracic injury. He had been stabbed in the left side of his chest and a two inch incised wound ran laterally to his nipple.

The patient was evaluated and intubated in the ED but despite volume and inotropes, his blood pressure remained stubbornly low. Bedside echocardiography confirmed a cardiac tamponade and he was taken straight to theatre for an anterolateral thoracotomy. The pericardium was incised and the blood pressure began to rise. Exploring deeper, the blood was found to be pouring from a rent in the stabbed left ventricle. The patient had a rapid midline sternotomy, his great vessels cannulated and he was stabilised on cardiopulmonary bypass. The tear in the ventricle was repaired and he was extubated two days later. He made incredible progress and was discharged at the end of the week. Why was he stabbed? He had been caught between to rival gangs searching for the Himalayan Viagra, Yarsagumba

Yarsagumba

Yarsagumba is known to science as Ophiocordyceps sinensis. In Chinese, it is called Dong cong xia cao. However, the origins are Tibetan: Yart Swa Gun Bu, which means ‘herb in the summer and insect in the winter’.

Yarsa is a kind of Yellow caterpillar (Lepidoptera)-fungus combination. Before the rainy season, the fungus infects caterpillar larvae living in the grassy soil. When it finally attacks the head, the larvae die. The stalks of the fungus then propagate in the head, growing 2-3 inches long and becoming brown in colour 2. The taste is of mushroom, flavoursome, sweet and neutral in nature. It can be eaten plain or powdered, mixed with milk or water.

The best times to pick it in Nepal are May and June, though it can also be found in Bhutan, India and Tibet. In Nepal, Yarsa is available in 27 different districts between the altitudes of 3000-5000 meters. Three and a half thousand individual pieces make up a kilo and about 2500kgs are collected every year in Nepal alone. Half comes from Dolpa District and 69,000 people used to gather in Dolpa Highlands every season to collect it.

Himalayan Viagra

Himalayan legends recall that when yaks and goats were taken to graze in the high pastures, the animals ate the Yarsagumba and became fresh, pursuing the opposite sex with a renewed vigour. Later, people also tasted it and experienced more energy, less fatigue and a boosted libido.

Now, Yarsa is touted as a cure for impotency, the ‘Himalayan Viagra’ and has rocketed in price. In the international markets, Yarsa is worth more than gold. Though well known in the region, it only caught worldwide attention in 1993 following exceptional performances from three female Chinese athletes in the World Athletics Championships. The coach attributed their record-beating times to a regular intake of Yarsagumba.

Collecting Yarsa at high altitude is not easy and the workers regularly put their lives at risk. There are deaths every year from AMS, swollen rivers, steep cliffs and slippery snowfields. Like any high value commodity, Yarsa boosts the economy but also brings conflicts. Indeed in June 2009, seven men came from Gorkha to pick Yarsa in the mountains and were murdered by a local mob intent on protecting their turf.

So does Yarsagumba actually work?

Yarsagumba contains a number of active ingredients, including cordycepin and cordycepic acid. Researchers from Stanford University also found increased androgen and other sex hormone precursors in the in the urine samples of those regularly taking Yarsa. Another study found 64% of Yarsa users experienced a subjective boost in libido.

Mice fed Ophiocordyceps sinensis and subjected to a hypoxic environment were able to utilise oxygen 30-50% more efficiently. They better tolerated acidosis and lived 2-3 time as long as the mice in the control group. Finally, in a number of clinical studies of elderly Chinese patients with fatigue, those treated with Ophiocordyceps reported significant improvements in their level of fatigue and tolerance of cold.

It is easy to construct an evolutionary argument for Yarsa’s ability to resist hypoxia and cold. After all, they are the principal selection pressures of its natural habitat. Now, we need translational research to discover if the effects in mice apply to humans at altitude. If they do, Yarsagumba could provide a new line of treatment for altitude illness, as well a valuable additional source of income for the mountain communities of the Himalayas.

 

With thanks to the doctors involved in the care of the stabbed patient: Raamesh Koirala, Uttam Krishna Shrestha, Anil Acharya, Murari Upreti, Archan Adhikari, Naresh Maharjan, and Subash Acharya. Photos: The Guerrilla Trek, Uttam Babu Shrestha, Manhoodmasti. Photograph of Cordyceps sinensis: Daniel Winkler (Mushroaming Ecotours).

References

Harvey G. Yarshagumba: Biological Gold. The Diplomat: 2014.

James J. ‘Himalayan Viagra’ stirs danger, violence in Nepal. The Center for Investigative Reporting: 2012.

Jolly J. Yarsagumba: Curse of Himalayan Annapurna region. BBC News: 2011.

Lin B, Li S. Cordyceps as an Herbal Drug. In: Benzie IFF, Wachtel-Galor S, editors. Herbal Medicine: Biomolecular and Clinical Aspects. 2nd edition. Boca Raton (FL): CRC Press; 2011. Chapter 5.

Lo H-C, Hsieh C, Lin F-Y, Hsu T-H. A Systematic Review of the Mysterious Caterpillar Fungus Ophiocordyceps sinensis in Dong-ChongXiaCao (冬蟲夏草 Dōng Chóng Xià Cǎo) and Related Bioactive Ingredients. Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine. 2013;3(1):16-32.

Panda AK. Tracing historical perspective of cordyceps sinensis – an aphrodisiac in Sikkim Himalaya. Indian Journal of History of Science, 45.2 (2010) 189-198 02/2010; 45(2):189-198.

Shrestha B, Zhang W, Zhang Y, Liu X. What is the Chinese caterpillar fungus Ophiocordyceps sinensis (Ophiocordycipitaceae)?. An International Journal on Fungal Biology. 2010;1(4):228-236.

Talbott SM. A guide to understanding dietary supplements. New York: Haworth Press, 2003.

Thapa BB, Panthi S,Rai RK and et.al. An Assessment of Yarsagumba (Ophiocordyceps sinensis) Collection in Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve, Nepal. Journal of Mountain Science.2013; 11(2).

Zhou X, Gong Z, Su Y et al. Cordyceps fungi: natural products, pharmacological functions and developmental products.Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology.2010;61(3):279-91.