天然與人工冬蟲夏草對人類抗氧化作用之影響與比較

The comparisons of anti-oxidative effects between natural and artificial Cordycepssinensis

目的：研究天然與人工冬蟲夏草對人類抗氧化作用之影響並比較其差異。方法：徵取健康年輕自願者男女共33人，以雙盲隨機分為天然冬蟲夏草組，人工冬蟲夏草組和安慰劑組。每次服用藥物的劑量為500mg，一天三次，服用時間一個月。服用前後，分別抽取靜脈血液檢體，使用超微量化學發光分析儀測量全血中的自由基含量，評估天然蟲草與人工蟲草在人體中抗氧化的能力。結果：服用天然冬蟲夏草組及人工冬蟲夏草組的全血中的自由基含量皆比對照組下降，且達統計學上的意義。顯示天然冬蟲夏草及人工冬蟲夏草皆有抗氧化的作用。結論：冬蟲夏草長期以來一直為中國人作為補品長期服用，且與人參，鹿茸並稱三大補品。由本實驗知正常人在服用冬蟲夏草一個月後其抗氧化能力確實有增加。由於近年來認為許多疾病的發生與自由基有關，近年來過氧化物質對人體的損傷及疾病的影響已陸續受到證實，因而利用抗氧化機轉來治療疾病已成為目前許多疾病的治療方向，包括：心血管疾病、慢性腎炎、及過敏性疾病等。具有抗氧化能力的藥物尤其是中藥更是近年來醫學發展的重點目標。因此我們選用日常最常用於對慢性腎炎及過敏性疾病的保健中藥冬蟲夏草做為研究對象以了解民間常用中藥冬蟲夏草藥膳做為保健品，是否有其臨床意義及其藥理機轉為何，以做為日後民眾食用冬蟲夏草藥膳的臨床依據。由實驗結果發現冬蟲夏草可以增強正常人的抗氧化能力，至於其在治療慢性腎炎是否經由抗氧化的機轉則須進一步研究。另一方面由於天然冬蟲夏草來源日益困難且價格昂貴，因此人工培養冬蟲夏草的研發勢在必行，本實驗發現人工冬蟲夏草雖也有抗氧化作用，但較天然冬蟲夏草為弱。因此在台灣如何開發效價較佳的人工冬蟲夏草，也是一個值得繼續深入研究的課題。

Objective: This study aimed to discover the differences of anti-oxidative effect l between natural and artificial Cordycepssinensis among human. Methods: A randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled design was applied in this study. 33 healthy volunteers were enrolled in this study and all subjects were divided in to natural Cordycepssinensis, artificial Cordycepssinensis and placebo group. Each subjects received natural Cordycepssinensis, artificial Cordycepssinensis or placebo medication 3 times a day, and total one month intervention period was achieved. Venous blood sample was withdrawn before and after intervention. Ultraweak-chemiluminescence analyzer was used to measure the free radicals in the blood sample. The data were analyzed statistically for the differences of anti-oxidant ability between in these three groups. Results: The amount of free radical of Cordycepssinensis group was lower than placebo group statistically. Both artificial and natural Cordycepssinensis had antioxidant effect. Conclusion: Cordycepssinensishas been used for a long time in Chinese population. As ansplenishingmedicinal, it was as famous as Panax ginseng and Pilous antler. In this study, anti-oxidant effect was discovered in subjects who took Cordycepssinensis. In the recent years, several illnesses have been thought to be related to body free radical amount, such as cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, and allergic disease. Therefore, anti-oxidant agents have been used to treat various diseases. Chinese medicinal with anti-oxidant effects have also been important study materials in the recent years. In this study, we chose Cordycepssinensis, which was believed to have therapeutic effects on chronic kidney disease and allergic diseases, as our study target to explore the efficacy and mechanism of action. This result proved the clinical efficacy of Cordycepssinensis and provided the evidence for people to take this medicine. Furthermore, due to higher price and decreasing harvest of natural Cordycepssinensis, the development of artificial Cordycepssinensisbecame more and more important. In this study, we found artificial Cordycepssinensis had weaker antioxidant effect than natural species. Further research on production of higher efficient Cordycepssinensis may be needed.