Cordyceps Militaris vs Sinensis: Species, Studies, Safety and Breathizen

Militaris and sinensis are separate species. In the wild, both grow on insect larvae. Sinensis is linked to high mountain areas, where it is hard to find and costly to collect.

Scientists have since moved sinensis into a different genus, so you may see it called Ophiocordyceps sinensis. Labels often still use the older name. Either way, it is not the same fungus as militaris.

Cultivation is the biggest practical difference. Militaris can be grown on grain or other substrates in controlled rooms. That makes it easier to supply at a steady quality and price.

Wild sinensis is too rare for most supplements. Instead, makers grow a strain of the fungus by fermentation and sell that material. The Cs-4 product used in one study is an example.

Fruiting body vs mycelium

The fruiting body is the part that grows above ground. The mycelium is the network of threads underneath. Supplements may use either, and the label should say which. Breathizen names a fruit extract.

The studies cited most often looked at exercise, not at lung disease. Both were small, and they used different products.

The militaris study

Young, healthy adults took 4 g a day of a mushroom blend that contained Cordyceps militaris (Hirsch et al., 2017). After 1 week there was no clear change. After 3 weeks, some measures of high-intensity exercise tolerance improved.

The sinensis study

Twenty adults aged 50 to 75 took about 1 g a day of the Cs-4 sinensis product for 12 weeks (Chen et al., 2010). Some breathing-threshold measures during exercise improved compared with placebo. This was a different species from the one in Breathizen.

Memorial Sloan Kettering sums up the wider picture: exercise studies in healthy people gave mixed results (MSKCC, Cordyceps). Neither study tested people with asthma or COPD.

There is no established dose of Cordyceps militaris. The studies above used about 1 to 4 g a day of different products. That is a lot of material, usually given as powder or capsules.

Breathizen lists organic Cordyceps militaris fruit extract, but the amount is not published. The whole daily serving is 0.60 mL of liquid shared by five extracts. So we cannot say how it compares with the study doses.

Cordyceps is not risk-free. MSKCC notes that it may lower blood sugar and may raise bleeding risk with blood thinners such as warfarin (MSKCC, Cordyceps).

The side effects page covers cautions for every Breathizen ingredient. The Cordyceps militaris page goes deeper on this one.

People often ask whether cordyceps is good for the lungs. There is no strong evidence that it improves lung function or treats any lung disease. The exercise studies measured performance and breathing thresholds in healthy people.

If you live with COPD or asthma, your treatment plan comes first (NHLBI, COPD). Talk to your care team before adding cordyceps or any supplement.

If you shop for a cordyceps product, the label should answer a few plain questions. Missing answers make it hard to judge.

Breathizen is an oral spray with five named ingredients. Cordyceps militaris sits beside mullein leaf, ginger root, bromelain and organic lemon. See the ingredients page for all five.

Honest note

The cordyceps amount is not published, and no trial of the spray has been published. The species matches the militaris study, but the dose and form do not. We think that is worth knowing before you buy.