mushroom with increased cordycepin content by the cultivation on edible insects.

Cordycepin is the major constituent of mushroom (or ) with therapeutic potential. Insects are the direct sources of nutrients for in nature. Therefore, optimized condition of cultivation for efficient cordycepin production was explored using six edible insects as substrates. The highest yield of cordycepin was produced by the cultivation on and was 34 times that on pupae. Among insect components, fat content was found to be important for cordycepin production. Especially, a positive correlation was deduced between oleic acid content and cordycepin production. The transcriptional levels of and , genes involved in cordycepin biosynthesis, were higher in grown on than on other insects tested. The addition of oleic acid to the substrates increased cordycepin production together with the transcriptional levels of and . Therefore, with high content of cordycepin can be secured by the cultivation on insects.