Thang chao: Medicine and aphrodisiac
Secretary of State Yuthasak Sasiprasa (Defense) remains fit thanks to thang chao. We know because he said so on a leaked YouTube audio clip.
De thang chao or caterpillar mushroom is an aphrodisiac, but we do not know whether the minister uses the mushroom for that reason, because the spore plant also has other medicinal properties.
And we also don't know if he consumes the toadstool, a mock fungus, or the artificially bred golden caterpillar fungus. The difference: the real one thang chao costs 2 million baht per kilo and the artificially grown a few thousand thousand baht. In addition, the wild mushroom is extremely rare. The fake mushrooms mainly come from Guangzhou; it has a lighter color and when you break it you don't see traces, but a mixture of flour paste and gelatin.
The caterpillar fungus, the real one, is a parasitic fungus that germinates in the larva of the highland ghost moth. In winter when the caterpillar hibernates underground, the fungus acts like a parasite and kills and mummifies the larva before sprouting from the head of the caterpillar like a stem-like mushroom. In summer, the dark brown stem emerges between the alpine grasses.
In Bhutan and Tibet, the mushroom was traditionally fed to the yaks and donkeys, so that they could do their job longer. The fungus helps to increase the absorption of oxygen. The fungus became known in 1993 when three Chinese women broke five world running records during the Olympic Games in Beijing. They tested negative for anabolic steroid use. They had not used that, but the caterpillar fungus. That's what the coach had advised them.
Since then thang chao one of the most sought after medicinal fungi, especially in China, Thailand, Vietnam, Korea and Japan, says Dr. Anon Auetragul, a former UN expert who worked in Bhutan in the XNUMXs. Up the run thang chao benefited the villagers in Bhutan. Some were left with a Mercedes.
Today, thousands of villagers in Tibet and Xining also sell the fungus. Anon himself grows the golden variety in his Thai Biotec Center and exports XNUMX kilos per month.
According to Anon, the caterpillar mushroom has proven medicinal properties. The fungus contains beta glucan which can activate the immune system and promote normal cholesterol levels. It is said to be beneficial for patients with diabetes, kidney disease, cancer, flu, SLE, rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis. A few years ago, Thai doctors praised the benefits in critical kidney disease.
Since the audio clip, Anon has been inundated with calls from people asking about thang chao. He warns them about the fakes on the market. There must be many, because the demand far exceeds the supply.
'Tibet and Bhutan are very small countries and the caterpillar fungus is only found in some remote parts of the Himalayas and the Tibetan plateau. I estimate there are less than 4 million.'
(Source: Bangkok Post, July 19, 2013)
Photos: Dr. Anon Auetragul sells and exports the cheaper golden caterpillar mushroom.