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Yartsa gunbu has been used as a traditional remedy for thousands of years, though only by the very wealthy. |
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It' s been bartered for tea and silk, and is worth more than four times its weight in silver. |
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So lucrative is this trade, that sites and information are jealously guarded. |
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At the nearby market, yartsa gunbu are cleaned, and their true nature becomes clear. The yartsa gunbu translates as " summer grass, winter worm". |
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The winter worm is a caterpillar. It eats roots of grasses |
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in preparation for its transformation into a moth. |
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But some winter worms never make it as moths. |
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Instead, a strange growth erupts from their body, appearing above ground in summer. |
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This is the " summer grass", a fungus called Cordyceps, whose spores have infected the caterpillar, using its body as their host. |
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Modern scientific tests have shown that substances contained in Cordyceps lower blood pressure and make it easier to breathe. |
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So in recent years, harvesting this natural treasure has grown into a huge and profitable business. |
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dōng chóng xià cǎo bèi yòng zuò chuán tǒng yào wù yǐ jīng shàng qiān nián, dàn jǐn xiàn yú fēi cháng fù yǒu de rén qún. tā bèi yòng lái jiāo huàn chá yè hé sī chóu, kě yǐ huàn huí chāo guò běn shēn sì bèi zhòng liàng de yín zi. zhè xiàng mào yì shì rú cǐ de bào lì shǐ de tā de jiāo yì dì diǎn hé xìn xī dōu bèi jǐn shèn dì bǎo hù qǐ lái. zài fù jìn de jí shì shàng dōng chóng xià cǎo bèi qīng lǐ gān jìng, zhè shǐ de tā de běn lái miàn mù xiǎn lù le chū lái, dōng chóng xià cǎo bèi fān yì wèi" dōng tiān de chóng zi xià tiān de cǎo". dōng chóng shì yī zhǒng máo chóng, tā yǐ cǎo gēn wèi shí, wèi zì jǐ biàn shēn chéng é zuò zhǔn bèi. dàn yǒu xiē dōng chóng què cóng méi yǒu jī huì biàn chéng é. ér zài xià jì yí gè qí guài de zhí wù, zài dōng chóng de tǐ nèi shēng cháng fà yù zhí zhì pò tǔ ér chū, zhè jiù shì" xià cǎo". yī zhǒng bèi chēng wéi chóng cǎo dí zhēn jūn shì tā de bāo zi qīn rù le máo chóng tǐ nèi, bìng jiāng máo chóng de shēn tǐ zuò wéi tā men de sù zhǔ. xiàn dài kē xué shí yàn zhèng míng hán yǒu dōng chóng xià cǎo de wù zhì kě yǐ, jiàng dī xuè yā bìng néng shǐ hū xī gèng shùn chàng. suǒ yǐ jìn xiē nián lái shōu huò zhè zhǒng zì rán zī yuán, yǐ jīng chéng wéi yǒu jù dà lì yì de shēng yì. |