The medicinal mushroom Cordyceps militaris has been reported to possess anticancer and immunomodulatory effects. We investigated the immunostimulatory effects of culture supernatant of C. militaris (WIB-801CE) by examining its in vitro enhancing effects on cell proliferation and cytokine releases in splenocytes and its in vivo effects on cyclophosphamide-induced immunosuppressed mice. WIB-801CE enhanced normal and methotrexate-induced cell proliferation.WIB-801CE significantly ameliorated interleukin (IL)-2, interferon-γ, and tumor necrosis factor-α secretion in methotrexate-induced splenocytes. Oral administration of WIB-801CE effectively increased the cyclophosphamide-suppressed splenocyte proliferation and natural killer cytotoxic activity. WIB-801CE effectively recovered cyclophosphamide-induced decreases in IL-2, interferon-γ, tumor necrosis factor-α, and IL-10 level. The collective data implicate WIB-801CE as a therapeutic candidate in ameliorating the immunosuppression through immunostimulatory properties.

A species of the fungal genus Cordyceps has been used as an ingredient of traditional Chinese medicine. In this study, we prepared cordycepin-enriched WIB-801CE, an ethanol extract from culture solution of Cordyceps militaris-hypha, and evaluated its antiplatelet effects on human platelet aggregation. WIB-801CE dose-dependently inhibited ADP-, collagen-, and thrombin-induced platelet aggregation. These antiplatelet effects by WIB-801CE were associated with the attenuation of thromboxane A 2 (TXA 2) production and serotonin release by ADP, collagen, and thrombin. The inhibition of TXA 2 production by WIB-801CE was due to the inhibition of cyclooxygenase-1, TXA 2 synthase, and cytosolic phospholipase A 2 activity. Therefore, these data suggest that WIB-801CE may be a beneficial component against protection from platelet aggregation-mediated thrombotic disease.