Ophiocordyceps sinensis (caterpillar fungus)

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2018: a victim of climate change, over-exploitation

Ruchika Uniyal, (With inputs from Shivani Azad), ‘Himalayan Viagra’ is under threat from climate change, October 24, 2018: The Times of India

Ophiocordyceps sinensis (caterpillar fungus)
From: Ruchika Uniyal, (With inputs from Shivani Azad), ‘Himalayan Viagra’ is under threat from climate change, October 24, 2018: The Times of India

Popular across the world as the ‘Himalayan Viagra’, a yellow-brown mummified caterpillar (Ophiocordyceps sinensis) which can now fetch up to three times the price of gold in some parts, is becoming rarer to find as a result of climate change and over-exploitation due to surge in demand, scientists have found.

A new study published in ‘Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences’, a peerreviewed US journal, revealed that “significantly” warmer winters across all caterpillar fungus habitats in India, Nepal and Bhutan might be making it difficult for the fungus to survive and threatening the livelihood of communities that traditionally depend on this niche commodity. “Using data spanning nearly two decades we found that caterpillar fungus production is declining throughout much of its range,” the researchers said.

Commonly known as 'keeda jadi' in India, the aphrodisiac is illegally smuggled to Nepal and China where it finds a booming market due to its use in medicine, including as a cure for cancer. In fact, in Beijing, where it is used as an anti-impotence drug, the prized commodity is now fetching thrice the price of gold. In India as well, collectors have reported sky-rocketing prices for the fungus — from Rs 100 a piece three years ago to Rs 500 per piece today.

Ophiocordyceps sinensis, famous as yarchagumba in Tibet, is found above an elevation of 11,500 feet and grows as a parasite on the larvae of a particular caterpillar, killing and mummifying it. It requires winter temperatures below zero degrees to grow. For the study, researchers led by those from Stanford University interviewed over 800 harvesters, collectors and traders in the Himalayan region, many of whom camp for months in alpine meadows in May and June, just as snow begins to melt, revealing the cone-shaped fungus.

In the new study, collectors reported that fungus production has decreased. While gatherers in central Tibet reported warming and drying trends that have affected caterpillar fungus production, collectors in Nepal cited decreasing winter snow, earlier spring snowmelt and warming as causes that have hit production.Another reason behind gradual disappearance of the fungus is overexploitation, the study found.

Dr G S Rawat, dean, Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, told TOI on Tuesday, “Over-harvesting of the species has contributed to its disappearance. There is an urgent need to regulate keeda jadi extraction.”