Cordyceps and performance
What 3 graded rows on cordyceps agree on for performance, and where they differ. Counted side by side, never averaged.
Consensus finder Rows from the Cordyceps page, reviewed Oct 21, 2026 How it decides
What the rows agree on
Each block and row is one graded row from the Cordyceps page, with its PubMed record.
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Cordyceps and performance
3 rows · 72 peopleSplit. 1 row found an improvement, 1 found no difference and 1 had mixed results.
- CGrade C× 1
- DGrade D× 2
- Rows
- 3
- Trials
- 3
- People
- 72
Where they differ
From the rowsThe best-graded row, grade C, is a randomized trial of 22 people (2004) and found no difference.
The row that found an improvement ran longer (4 months) than the row that found no difference (5 weeks).
Only the row that found no difference names men in its population.
The row that found an improvement is newer (2024) than the row that found no difference (2004).
The best grade is C among the row that found no difference, and D among the row that found an improvement.
1 row with mixed results is left out of this comparison.
The rows
1 improved · 1 no difference · 1 mixed- DGrade DIron stores and hemoglobin in distance runners · Improved
RCT · n 22 · 2024 · College long-distance runners during pre-season training
1,800 mg/day (6 × 300 mg capsules) · 16 weeks
Serum ferritin rose with cordyceps but fell with placebo (significant at weeks 4 and 8); hemoglobin and hematocrit changes favoured cordyceps at week 8, and creatine kinase was lower at week 16.
- CGrade CAerobic capacity and endurance time trial · No difference
RCT · n 22 · 2004 · Endurance-trained male cyclists
3 g/day · 5 weeks
VO2peak, ventilatory threshold and time-trial performance did not change and did not differ from placebo (time trial 62.1 vs 61.4 min).
- DGrade DHigh-intensity exercise tolerance · Mixed
RCT · n 28 · 2017 · Young adults (mean age 22.7)
4 g/day blend · 1 week (all) and 3 weeks (10 volunteers)
After 1 week, no significant effects on VO2max, ventilatory threshold, time to exhaustion or power. After 3 weeks, VO2max rose 4.8 ml/kg/min in the 10 who continued, and confidence-interval analysis showed longer time to exhaustion.