The short answer: commercial cordyceps products recommend 0.5 to 4 grams a day, and the human exercise studies used roughly 1 to 4 grams, with mixed results. No study we found compares times of day. The main interaction flags are blood thinners and blood-sugar medication. Blends add their own: our gummies contain ginkgo (bleeding risk) and DMAE (not for pregnancy).
Cordyceps gets sold as the energy mushroom, and most pages about it lead with what it might do. This one leads with what the evidence actually supports, how much people take, how that compares with what’s in a gummy or a dropper, and which medicines are worth asking about first. That includes the cautions on our own label, named plainly.
Every dose, safety and interaction statement links to its source. The full list is at the bottom, with the date we read them.
What does cordyceps actually do?
Less is established than the marketing suggests, and we’d rather say that first.
LiverTox, the NIH’s database on liver injury from drugs and supplements, notes that cordyceps is promoted for fatigue, energy, athletic performance and more. It also says lab studies show a range of biological activity, that the constituents responsible aren’t known, and that none of the purported benefits have been demonstrated convincingly in clinical trials in humans. Most of the mechanism story comes from lab and animal work.
The human research is mostly on exercise, and it points in different directions. Memorial Sloan Kettering summarises it as mixed results in healthy subjects:
| Study | Who | What they took | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parcell et al., 2004 | 22 trained male cyclists | Cs-4 cordyceps, 3 g/day for 5 weeks | No effect on aerobic capacity or endurance performance |
| Chen et al., 2010 | 20 healthy adults aged 50–75 | Cs-4, 333 mg three times a day (about 1 g/day) for 12 weeks | Metabolic and ventilatory thresholds rose; no change in VO2 max. A pilot study |
| Hirsch et al., 2016 | 28 young adults for 1 week; 10 continued to 3 weeks | 4 g/day of a mushroom blend containing Cordyceps militaris | No significant group differences at 1 week (a secondary analysis suggested longer time to exhaustion); VO2 max improved after 3 weeks |
Three small studies, three different preparations, three different populations. That’s the honest state of it: cordyceps has been studied for exercise tolerance and oxygen use, and the results so far are small and inconsistent. None of them tested a gummy or a tincture.
How much cordyceps should you take?
The ranges in the sources
LiverTox states that recommended doses of cordyceps in commercial products range from 0.5 to 4 grams daily. The trials above sit inside that range: about 1 g, 3 g and 4 g a day (the 4 g was a blend, so the cordyceps share was lower). There is no official recommended dose, because cordyceps isn’t a nutrient with an established requirement.
100 mg, 200 mg and the study doses, honestly compared
Here’s how Flow Botanicals’ two cordyceps products line up:
| Product | Cordyceps per serving | Daily range on the label |
|---|---|---|
| Cordyceps Energy Gummies | 200 mg extract per gummy | 200–400 mg (1–2 gummies) |
| Energy & Cognition Drops | 100 mg extract per 1 ml | 100 mg (1 ml) |
| Human exercise studies above | Cs-4 or a C. militaris blend | about 1,000–4,000 mg |
On paper, two gummies (400 mg) are less than half the smallest study amount, one gummy is a twentieth of the largest, and the drops are lower again. Two things make even that comparison loose. First, our labels list an extract but not the extract ratio, and a milligram of concentrated extract isn’t the same as a milligram of the dried material some trials used. Second, our labels don’t disclose the species or strain. We can’t tell you whether it’s Cordyceps militaris or a Cs-4 type preparation, and we won’t guess.
The two products also aren’t a stronger and weaker version of the same thing. The drops split their actives across cordyceps, lion’s mane, Alpha-GPC, L-tyrosine and 500 mcg of vitamin B12, which supports normal energy metabolism. The gummy puts 200 mg of cordyceps with GABA, ginkgo leaf, L-glutamine and DMAE, and supports energy metabolism. Neither finished formula has been studied, so we make no claim about what either one will do for you, or how fast. Why that matters when reading any energy product is covered in how to read an “energy blend”.
Morning or evening?
We found no study comparing times of day for cordyceps. Our labels say to take it daily and give no time. People often take energy-positioned products earlier in the day, which is a reasonable habit, not a tested rule. If you’re pairing it with an evening product, see reishi, sleep and interactions for what’s in those.
What not to mix with cordyceps
This is the part that matters most. It doesn’t mean cordyceps is dangerous for most people. It means these are the combinations authoritative sources flag, and they’re worth raising with your doctor or pharmacist before you start. Nothing here says a supplement is safe with your medications. Only your prescriber can tell you that.
| If you take or have… | What the source says | Strength of evidence | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blood thinners or antiplatelet drugs (e.g. warfarin) | Cordyceps inhibited platelet aggregation in lab studies and may increase these drugs’ effects; one case report of excessive bleeding after a tooth extraction in a daily user | Lab studies plus one case report | MSKCC |
| Insulin or other blood-sugar-lowering medication | Possible additive blood-sugar-lowering effect | Lab studies; clinical relevance not established | MSKCC |
| Flow’s gummy, ginkgo: blood thinners or antiplatelet drugs | Ginkgo may induce or prolong bleeding time | Human studies and case reports | MSKCC, NCCIH |
| Flow’s gummy, ginkgo: pregnancy | Ginkgo may be unsafe during pregnancy; may cause early labour or extra bleeding during delivery | Precaution | NCCIH |
| Flow’s gummy, DMAE: pregnancy or nursing | Our product page says do not use if pregnant or nursing. In a lab study, mouse embryos exposed to DMAE, used there as a choline-uptake inhibitor, developed neural tube defects | Product warning; lab study only | Fisher et al., 2001 |
| Flow’s drops: avoiding alcohol | The printed label lists organic alcohol (20%) | Label fact | Product page |
Look at the first and third rows together. On a blood thinner, our Cordyceps Energy Gummies stack two ingredients with a bleeding caution in one jar. Talk to your doctor before taking them. Reishi carries the same bleeding flag, covered in reishi, sleep and interactions, so combining the mushrooms adds to it rather than cancelling out.
A note on what’s missing: you’ll see immunosuppressants and autoimmune conditions on many cordyceps lists. We couldn’t confirm that caution in the primary sources we used for this page, so it isn’t in the table. That’s not a clearance. If you take immune-suppressing medication, ask before starting any immune-active supplement.
Is it safe to take cordyceps every day?
For most healthy adults, the sources describe it as well tolerated. MSKCC says no major side effects have been reported. LiverTox says cordyceps extracts are well tolerated, with only minimal or mild adverse events that can include abdominal discomfort, diarrhea, dry mouth, nausea, poor appetite and rash. Daily use is how products are labelled, ours included.
Two things change that picture: the interaction rows above, and the other ingredients in whatever you’re taking. Ginkgo’s most common side effects, per NCCIH, are dizziness, gastrointestinal symptoms and headache. If you notice any of these after starting a blend, stop and check with a doctor.
Cordyceps vs lion’s mane: which is better?
They’re studied for different things, so it depends what you’re choosing for. Cordyceps research is mostly about exercise (the table above). Lion’s mane has been studied for cognition in small human trials with mixed findings: a 28-day pilot at 1.8 g found a quicker Stroop result after one dose and only a trend in stress, and a single 3 g dose showed no overall effect on cognition or mood.
Our Energy & Cognition Drops contain both, at 100 mg each. For lion’s mane amounts and timing in the same format as this page, see lion’s mane dosage.
Frequently asked questions
What are the dangers of cordyceps?
For most people, the reported side effects are mild and digestive: abdominal discomfort, diarrhea, dry mouth, nausea, poor appetite and rash. The more serious concern is bleeding risk alongside blood thinners, based on lab studies and one case report.
Does cordyceps affect the liver?
LiverTox rates cordyceps E, an unlikely cause of clinically apparent liver injury, and says it hasn’t been linked to liver enzyme rises or cases of acute liver injury. It describes one 2023 case of a rare liver condition after long-term use, with causality uncertain.
Does cordyceps help with workouts?
It has been studied for it, with mixed results. A 3 g/day trial in trained cyclists found no effect; a 4 g/day blend study found some improvement after 3 weeks in 10 people. None of it supports a promise from a supplement.
Is cordyceps safe during pregnancy?
We found no pregnancy safety data for cordyceps itself in the sources on this page. Our gummies are a clear no: we say do not use them if pregnant or nursing because they contain DMAE, and NCCIH says ginkgo may be unsafe during pregnancy.
Is cordyceps different for men and women?
None of the sources here give sex-specific doses or cautions. The exercise trials were small, and one enrolled only men, so they can’t answer it either way.
Which cordyceps species is in Flow Botanicals’ products?
Our labels don’t disclose it, and we won’t guess. Here’s how to read a mushroom supplement label for the questions to ask any brand, including us.
Sources
All accessed September 2026. Where a page shows its own revision date, it’s noted.
- NIH LiverTox: Cordyceps (updated July 23, 2026)
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, About Herbs: Cordyceps
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, About Herbs: Ginkgo
- NIH NCCIH: Ginkgo
- Parcell AC et al. Cordyceps sinensis (CordyMax Cs-4) supplementation does not improve endurance exercise performance. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab, 2004. PubMed 15118196
- Chen S et al. Effect of Cs-4 (Cordyceps sinensis) on exercise performance in healthy older subjects. J Altern Complement Med, 2010. PubMed 20804368
- Hirsch KR et al. Cordyceps militaris improves tolerance to high-intensity exercise after acute and chronic supplementation. J Diet Suppl, 2017 (published online 2016). PubMed 27408987
- Fisher MC et al. Inhibitors of choline uptake and metabolism cause developmental abnormalities in neurulating mouse embryos. Teratology, 2001. PubMed 11460263
- Docherty S et al. The acute and chronic effects of lion’s mane mushroom supplementation on cognitive function, stress and mood in young adults. Nutrients, 2023. PubMed 38004235
- Surendran G et al. Acute effects of a standardised extract of Hericium erinaceus on cognition and mood in healthy younger adults. Front Nutr, 2025. PubMed 40276537
This page is general information about ingredients, not medical advice. If you take prescription medication, are pregnant or nursing, or have a medical condition, talk to your doctor or pharmacist before taking cordyceps or any supplement.