Adaptogenic mushrooms have been used for centuries as a traditional medicine of China and by the people in the mountains of Tibet.

The name comes from the Latin words ‘cord’ and ‘ceps’ which mean ‘club’ and ‘head’. Effectively, these words describe the appearance of the fungus. It grows in high mountains at an altitude of around 3,500 to 5,000 meters above sea level and is found in Nepal Himalayas, Tibet, Bhutan, Sichuan, Quanghai, Xizang and Yunnan provinces of China.

It was written about in Tibet from the 15th century, of which much of this knowledge is now being studied and scientifically tested.

One of the main active compounds are beta glucans polysaccharides. These are long sugar chains with many oxygen sections within them. As these sugars break down the oxygen molecules are released and absorbed on a cellular level.