• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.105-108
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• 2001

The wild entomopathogenic fungi, Cordyceps militaris, were collected at the Whawang mountain, Korea. The pupae of the silkworm, Bombyx mori, were used as infecting hosts for the production of the silkworm-mili-taris dongchunhacho, silkworm vegetable wasps and plant worms with C. militaris. Three inoculation methods in terms of injection, spray and immersion were tested against the silkworm pupae. The three inocu1ation methods revealed 100% infectivity to the silkworm pupae tested. Of the three inoculation methods, the injection method was highly effective in the reduction of the period required for the endosclerotium and the completion of fruiting body formation. These results indicate that the silkworm pupae are very effective host insects for the production of C. militaris.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.665-672
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• 2017

The anti-diabetic effect of dried-silkworm Dongchunghacho water extracts was investigated in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. Seven-week-old SD rats were randomly assigned to six groups: normal control (NC) group, diabetic control (DC) group, water extracts of Paecilomyces japonica grown on a dried-silkworm (PJ-DS, 50 mg/kg) group, PJ-DS (250 mg/kg) group, water extracts of Cordyceps militaris grown on a dried-silkworm (CM-DS, 250 mg/kg) group, and water extracts of dried-silkworm (DS, 250 mg/kg) group. These groups were orally provided with sample dissolved in water respectively for four weeks after an injection of STZ (60 mg/kg, ip) followed by identification of diabetic control (DC) group. After four weeks, body weight of all diabetic groups was significantly lower than that of the normal control (NC) group, but among diabetic groups there were no significant differences. Blood glucose levels of the PJ-DS (50 mg/kg), PJ-DS (250 mg/kg), CM-DS (250 mg/kg) and DS (250 mg/kg) groups were reduced compared to the DC group by 3.0 percent, 18.5 percent, 6.9 percent and 13.1 percent, respectively. Concentration of total cholesterol and triglyceride in blood plasma were to some degree decreased in PJ-DS (250 mg/kg) and DS (250 mg/kg) groups compared to the DC group. According to these results dried-silkworm Dongchunghacho water extracts (PJ-DS) boost protection against STZ-induced toxicity.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.247-266
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• 2017

Cordyceps is a traditional Chinese medicinal herb well-known in China, Korea and Japan since B.C. 2,000. The original entomopathogenic fungus, Cordyceps sinensis belonging to the genus Cordyceps could not be found inside Korean peninsula due to the absence of the host insect for the corresponding entomogenous fungus. The development of artificial production methods of Korean type Cordyceps using the silkworm Bombyx mori as in vivo culture medium for the the entomopathogenic fungus Paecilomyces tenuipes is the first, and wonderful occasion in the research history of insect industry of this global world. The aim of this article is to review the historical research background, mass-production methods, and pharmacological effects of the silkworm-dongchunghacho (Paecilomyces tenuipes) which is a newly developed Korean medicinal insect-borne mushroom, and another non-insect-borne medicinal mushroom (Cordyceps militaris and Cordyceps pruinosa). Their biological actions include anti-tumor, immunostimulating, anti-fatigue, anti-stress, anti-oxidant, anti-aging, anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory, anti-thrombosis, hypolipidaemic and insecticidal effects. The bioactive principles are protein-bound polysaccharides (hexose, hexosamin), cordycepin, D-manitol, acidic polysaccharide etc. Protein-bound polysaccharides and n-butanol fractions were demonstrated to show a significant anti-tumor activities but did not show a cytotoxicities. D-mannitol exhibited a significant prolongation of the life span in tumor bearing mice. Ergosterol did not show an efficient anti-tumor activity, but showed a significant phagocytosis enhancing activity. Anti-tumor activity of silkworm-dongchunghacho might be attributed to immuno-stimulating activities rather than cytotoxic effects [164]. Also this review comprises the breeding of Dongchunghacho varieties, optimization of culture conditions, improvement of learning and memory by Dongchunghacho, application of them as foods and chemical constituents.

• Journal of Sericultural and Entomological Science
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.31-33
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• 2003

This study was carried out to investigate pathogenicity of liquid spawns on dongchunghacho growing using silkworm, optimum infective condition for mass production and infection rate on various conservation periods and temperatures. We compared with the infection rates after conservation the liquid spawns (Paecilomyces tenuipes) at 4$^{\circ}C$ and 25$^{\circ}C$ for 10 days and 20 days. In these results, infection rate of conservated liquid spawns at 4$^{\circ}C$ was 88.0 percent in the tenth day, and then again it was 5.3 percent at 25$^{\circ}C$. Infection rates at 4$^{\circ}C$ were on the whole excellent out of long-term preservation methods.