冬蟲夏草是一種使用於傳統中國醫藥上的蟲生真菌，具有廣泛的生物活性，並特別表現在腎臟、肝臟、心血管、免疫系統方面的藥理功能。蟲草菌的藥理作用主要是因為冬蟲夏草及相關真菌可產生具有生物活性的多醣體、修飾型核啟及環胞素型的代謝物所致。冬蟲夏草的藥理作用亦因而以在腎與肝功能及免疫調節上的表現最值得關注。先前的研究多採用子實體為藥材，最近的藥理作用研究報告中，採用培養菌絲體為對象者已逐漸增多。然而，目前並無法依文獻資料判斷子實體與菌絲是否均產生相同有效成份而導致其藥理效果。未來宜有更多疾病導向且以作用機轉為基礎的藥理學研究，以強化冬蟲夏草用於特定疾病的臨床基礎。目前資料顯示，若能再於雙盲、隨機且安慰劑控制組之臨床試驗顯示有效，則冬蟲夏草最可能使用於免疫功能變異、癌症、腎功能衰敗的輔助治療方面。

Cordyceps sinensis, an entomogenous fungus used in traditional Chinese medicine, exhibits very broad biological and pharmacological
actions in hepatic, renal, cardiovascular, and immunologic systems as well as anticancer activity. Pharmacological functions of
Cordyceps are primarily due to the bioactive polysaccharides, modified nucleosides, and cyclosporin-like metabolites produced by this
fungus and related species. The beneficial effects on renal and hepatic function and immunomodulation-related antitumor activities are
most promising and deserve great attention. Many previous studies used fruiting bodies, but recently an increasing number of studies have
used cultured mycelia in investigations. It is difficult to determine if the same bioactive ingredients exist in fruiting bodies and cultured
mycelia and contribute to the pharmacological actions reported in the literature. More mechanism-based, disease-oriented pharmacological
studies are required to ensure clinical efficacy for particular diseases. Adjuvant therapy using C. sinensis for immune function disturbances,
cancer, and renal failure is possible if double-blind, randomized placebo-control clinical studies show the efficacy of this herb.