Cordyceps Benefits: What Human Studies Show, Doses and Safety

Cordyceps is a fungus used in traditional Chinese medicine and sold as capsules, powders and liquid extracts. Human studies on it are small and mixed: the largest pooled analyses tested it added to standard treatment for kidney disease and lung cancer, while short trials in healthy people found changes in immune markers, blood markers in runners and post-exercise reaction time, not always consistently. What the research shows is a set of small findings in specific forms and doses, not a result you can count on, and cordyceps is not a replacement for any prescribed treatment.

Cordyceps at a glance

MSK calls cordyceps an adaptogen, a term also used for ashwagandha. For that herb’s studies, see ashwagandha benefits evidence.

What the human studies show

Each use below is ordered by the strength of its research design, starting with systematic reviews and meta-analyses.

Kidney disease and dialysis (added to standard care)

Several systematic reviews have tested cordyceps added to standard care for kidney problems. MSK’s cordyceps summary says cordyceps products improved kidney function and reduced nephropathy in some transplant patients, but also that several analyses found the evidence for it as an adjuvant treatment in transplant recipients and hemodialysis patients insufficient.

A 2014 Cochrane review of kidney disease pooled 22 studies with 1,746 people. The results shown were for people with chronic kidney disease not on dialysis. Cordyceps preparations added to conventional medicine lowered serum creatinine (mean difference -60.76 umol/L, 14 studies, 987 people), raised creatinine clearance (9.22 mL/min, 6 studies, 362 people) and reduced 24-hour urine protein (-0.15 g/24 h, 4 studies, 211 people). The authors rated risk of bias high in four studies and unclear in 18, and said definitive conclusions could not be made because of low-quality evidence.

A 2019 hemodialysis review pooled 12 randomized trials with 655 people. Cordyceps added to conventional treatment improved C-reactive protein, serum albumin and hemoglobin compared with conventional treatment alone, but not serum creatinine or LDL cholesterol. The quality of evidence was rated low to moderate, and the authors judged it insufficient to recommend cordyceps as adjunctive treatment in hemodialysis.

A 2025 kidney meta-analysis pooled 15 studies with 1,310 patients with renal dysfunction, including acute kidney injury. It reported that cordyceps significantly reduced blood creatinine and increased urine osmolality. The 2025 review’s authors wrote that cordyceps ‘can be considered a dependable clinical treatment.’ The review evaluated it as an addition to conventional treatment, not as a substitute for standard kidney care. That conclusion is stronger than the 2014 and 2019 reviews reached, and the abstract reports diagnostic-test statistics such as sensitivity and specificity, so read it alongside them.

Lung cancer (added to standard treatment)

A 2024 lung cancer meta-analysis pooled 12 randomized trials with 928 patients. Cordyceps sinensis was given as an adjuvant, meaning alongside conventional treatment. Compared with conventional treatment alone, the pooled trials reported a higher tumour response rate (risk ratio 1.17, 95% CI 1.05 to 1.29), higher CD4, CD8 and NK cell measures, better quality-of-life scores on the Karnofsky scale, and fewer cases of leukopenia, thrombocytopenia, myelosuppression and radiation pneumonitis. Cordyceps was studied alongside standard treatment in these trials, not in place of it.

Immune markers in healthy adults

A 2024 immune trial in healthy adults was a randomized controlled trial with a placebo group. It gave 20 people (10 men and 10 women) a fermented Cordyceps militaris beverage containing 2.85 mg of cordycepin, or placebo, for 8 weeks. Natural killer (NK) cell activity rose in men from baseline by 4 weeks, and in women it was higher than placebo at 8 weeks. Interleukin-1 beta fell within the men’s group, and interleukin-6 fell from baseline in women. Blood sugar, lipid and safety measures did not differ between groups. The authors wrote that the beverage ‘can potentially be developed as an immune-boosting supplement without liver, kidney, or blood component toxicity.’

Blood markers and muscle damage in long-distance runners

A 2024 trial in long-distance runners was a placebo-controlled, double-blind, parallel-group study. It gave 22 runners (11 per group) Cordyceps militaris mycelium extract or placebo for 16 weeks during pre-season training. Ferritin rose relative to placebo at 4 and 8 weeks, hemoglobin and hematocrit were higher than placebo at 8 weeks, and creatine kinase, a marker of muscle damage, was lower than placebo at 16 weeks. The authors suggest the extract may help maintain hemoglobin and protect against muscle injury. The company that produced the test supplement supported the study, and one author worked for another company.

Exercise performance

MSK says studies of exercise performance in healthy people gave mixed results. Its list includes a 2010 placebo-controlled trial in healthy older adults and a 2004 trial whose title says a Cordyceps sinensis product ‘does not improve endurance exercise performance’. Read together, these studies do not show a reliable endurance boost.

Reaction time and oxygen use after one dose

A 2026 crossover trial on reaction time gave 12 recreationally active young men 1 g of standardized Cordyceps militaris extract or a cornstarch placebo, 30 minutes before a maximal cycling test to exhaustion, with a 7-day gap between sessions. After exercise, reaction times were faster on cordyceps (963.92 ms vs 1,034.33 ms, p=0.042). Resting oxygen uptake was higher (0.37 vs 0.24 L/min, p=0.022), and peak exercise oxygen uptake did not change. The change from before to after exercise did not differ significantly between the groups. The authors wrote that the results suggest an acute cognitive benefit independent of exercise-induced changes, based on one small crossover trial.

Cough, lungs and traditional uses

MSK lists coughs among cordyceps’ uses in traditional Chinese medicine, and adds that ‘Cordyceps has other uses, but doctors haven’t studied them to see if they work.’ The human trials above measured immune, blood, exercise and kidney outcomes, not coughs. The lung-cancer review notes that cordyceps is often used to treat lung diseases, but its trials were in people with lung cancer receiving standard treatment.

Testosterone

In mice, cordyceps stimulated testosterone production, according to MSK’s cordyceps summary, which cites a 2004 study in male mice. MSK adds that whether it does the same in humans is not known. None of the human trials above measured testosterone.

Anxiety and tiredness

None of the human trials above measured anxiety. MSK lists fatigue as a condition cordyceps is traditionally used for, not as a side effect. In the 2026 crossover, reaction times were faster after exercise on cordyceps.

Benefits for men and for women

The 2024 immune trial split its results by sex, with 10 men and 10 women. The findings differed between the two groups, as described above. The testosterone finding comes from male mice, not men.

Doses used in studies

These are the amounts researchers used, not a dose to take.

A supplement company’s educational article gives 1,000 mg to 4,000 mg a day as the range used in clinical studies and says that range was well tolerated. That is the company’s summary rather than a study report, so check the trial reports before relying on it.

The studies report when they measured changes: within hours of a single dose, at 4 and 8 weeks in the immune trial, and at 4, 8 and 16 weeks in the runner trial. None of them tracked how long it takes a person to notice a difference in daily life.

Safety, side effects and medicine interactions

Who should talk to a clinician first

• Anyone taking insulin or another blood-sugar medicine. MSK says cordyceps can lower blood sugar.
• Anyone taking warfarin, another blood thinner or an antiplatelet drug, or anyone with a dental or other procedure planned.
• Anyone with a myelogenous-type cancer, which MSK says should avoid cordyceps.
• Anyone with kidney disease, a transplant, dialysis, or cancer in treatment. The studies used cordyceps alongside standard care, so your care team should know before you add it.
• Anyone already taking a prescribed medicine. MSK advises telling your healthcare providers about any supplements. Cordyceps is not a replacement for prescribed treatment.

What is still unknown

• Whether cordyceps changes testosterone in people. MSK says that is not known.
• Kidney and dialysis findings rest on low-to-moderate-quality studies, and the 2014, 2019 and 2025 reviews reach different conclusions.
• The 6 g a day figure in the lung-cancer subgroup is one the authors wrote ‘may be’ optimal. It is a question for further research, not a settled dose.
• Most human trials here had 12 to 22 people, so their results may not hold in larger groups.
• The runner trial was supported by the company that produced the supplement, and one author worked for another company.
• Long-term safety is not established. A 2026 review of Cordyceps militaris polysaccharides says long-term safety data are scarce, oral absorption is poorly understood, and clinical validation is lacking. The same review says extraction and purification methods are not standardized. A 2020 review of Cordyceps cicadae says more research and standardization are needed before comparing it with the other two species.
• A 2025 review of lab and animal studies on Alzheimer’s is preclinical, so it says nothing about people yet.
• If you are weighing the two, look for head-to-head trials and compare the amounts on each label.
• To learn more about a specific product, ask the company in writing for the species, the per-serving amount and the trial data for that exact product before you order.

How to read a cordyceps label

For a plain guide to telling research from marketing claims, read ingredient evidence vs marketing claims before you compare labels.

By ClinicalStudyConnect.com Research Desk