Quick answer

Most cordyceps trials used about 1 to 4 g a day, and LiverTox puts typical products at 0.5 to 4 g a day. Exercise trials ran 1 to 12 weeks and immune trials 4 to 8 weeks. No upper limit is set, and results were mixed at every amount.^1,2,3,4,5

Key facts

The trial in adults aged 50 to 75 used 333 mg three times a day for 12 weeks.²
One blend trial used two capsules, 1.3 g in all, three times a day.³
A cordyceps drink trial measured its dose as cordycepin: at least 2.85 mg a day.⁶
The cordyceps trials pooled in a 2025 meta-analysis used 2 to 3 g a day.⁷

Amounts in the trials we read

The trials differ in species, form and length as much as in amount, so read each dose with its row. They are listed from the smallest daily amount to the largest, with the drink trial last because it was dosed by cordycepin.

Cordyceps trials by daily amount^{2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10}
Daily amount	Species and form	Who, and for how long	What was found
About 1 g, as 333 mg three times a day	Cs-4 mycelium	20 adults aged 50 to 75, 12 weeks	Two exercise thresholds 8.5% and 10.5% higher; maximal oxygen uptake unchanged
1 g, once	Cordyceps sinensis	14 young adults, one hard cycling session	Different muscle cell responses in the 24 hours after exercise than with placebo
1.05 g	Cordyceps cicadae mycelium granules	49 adults, 3 months	No change in liver or kidney blood tests
1.5 g	Cordyceps militaris	79 men, 4 weeks	Natural killer cell activity higher than placebo
1.68 g	Paecilomyces hepiali mycelium extract	79 adults, 8 weeks	Natural killer cell activity about 39% higher than placebo
2 g, as 667 mg three times a day	Cordyceps sinensis	22 amateur marathon runners, 12 weeks	Faster 5 km times, oxygen uptake unchanged; known only from a 2025 review
3 g	Cs-4 mycelium tablets	22 trained male cyclists, 5 weeks	No change
About 4 g	Cordyceps militaris blend with five other mushrooms	28 young adults, 1 to 3 weeks	No change at 1 week; higher maximal oxygen uptake at 3 weeks in the 10 who continued
At least 2.85 mg of cordycepin	Cordyceps militaris drink	40 adults, 8 weeks	Natural killer cell activity higher in women than with placebo at 8 weeks

The table is not every trial ever run. A 2026 review of Cordyceps militaris trials lists daily amounts from 1 to 12 g, some of them as part of mixtures, for 1 to 16 weeks, and found the results inconsistent.¹¹

Amounts behind the two graded claims

May support aerobic exercise capacity at 1 to 4 g a day taken for several weeks; results disagree, including in trained athletes*^2,3,7,10,11

Early evidence

In 20 adults aged 50 to 75, a cultured cordyceps mycelium (Cs-4) at 333 mg three times a day for 12 weeks raised two exercise thresholds by 8.5% and 10.5%, with no change in maximal oxygen uptake. In 28 young adults, 4 g a day of a mushroom blend containing Cordyceps militaris made no difference after 1 week; in the 10 who continued for 3 weeks, maximal oxygen uptake rose compared with placebo. In 22 trained male cyclists, 3 g a day for 5 weeks changed nothing measured. A 2025 meta-analysis of two or three small trials found borderline gains, and a 2026 review called the Cordyceps militaris trials inconsistent.

Amount studied: About 1 to 4 g a day for 3 to 12 weeks

May raise natural killer cell activity, one measure of immune function, in healthy adults; whether this means fewer illnesses was not tested*^4,5,6

Early evidence

In 79 healthy Korean men, 1.5 g a day of Cordyceps militaris for 4 weeks raised natural killer cell activity and lymphocyte growth more than placebo. In 79 healthy adults, 1.68 g a day of a cordyceps mycelium extract (Paecilomyces hepiali) for 8 weeks raised natural killer cell activity by about 39% compared with placebo. In a 40-person trial of a Cordyceps militaris drink, activity rose in men by 4 weeks against their starting level and, compared with placebo, in women by 8 weeks. The trials were small and short, and none counted illnesses.

Amount studied: 1.5 to 1.7 g a day for 4 to 8 weeks

Neither effect shows a clear dose response. Trained cyclists saw nothing on 3 g a day, while about 1 g a day shifted two thresholds in older adults, so a bigger daily amount was not reliably better.^2,10

Energy claims on labels

We found no placebo-controlled trial of cordyceps for everyday energy in healthy adults. So there is no tested dose for it, whatever a label says.

What a gram contains

Gram for gram, cordyceps products are not interchangeable. Mycelium powder, fruiting body powder and extracts carry different amounts of cordycepin, and only one trial set its dose by cordycepin, at about 2.85 mg a day.^6,7

Some mycelium products are grown on grain. The Cordyceps militaris blend in one exercise trial was mycelium grown on organic oats, mixed with five other mushrooms.³

When the mycelium is sold with the grain it grew on, part of each gram is that grain. A label that gives only a total weight cannot tell you how much is fungus.³

What's in ours

Mushroom Complex gives 266 mg of cordyceps mycelium a day. The smallest daily amount in the trials was about 1 g, close to four times as much, so we make no claim for it.²

Upper amounts, and who should ask first

No upper limit is set. Most trials used 1 to 4 g a day, and a 2026 review of Cordyceps militaris trials, some testing mixtures, lists amounts up to 12 g a day for 1 to 16 weeks. A safety study of a related species ran 3 months at 1.05 g a day. NIH's LiverTox rates cordyceps an unlikely cause of liver injury.^1,2,3,9,11

Do not take more than a label directs to match a trial without asking your doctor
Pregnant, breastfeeding or under 18: ask your doctor first
Taking a blood thinner, insulin or a medicine that suppresses the immune system: ask first, because laboratory, animal and small human studies point to effects on platelets, blood sugar and immune cells^4,12,13

Questions people ask

How much cordyceps per day for athletes?

Trials in athletes used about 2 to 3 g a day of Cordyceps sinensis, and they disagree. Trained cyclists on 3 g a day saw no change, while a small runners' trial at 3 g a day and a marathon trial at 2 g a day reported gains; we know those two only through a 2025 review.^7,10

Is 1,000 mg of cordyceps a day enough?

About 1 g a day is the lowest daily amount with a published effect: in adults aged 50 to 75 it shifted two exercise thresholds after 12 weeks, without changing maximal oxygen uptake. Younger and trained people were mostly tested at higher amounts.^2,3,10

How much cordyceps is too much?

No upper limit is set. Most trials used 1 to 4 g a day, a 2026 review lists Cordyceps militaris amounts up to 12 g a day, some in mixtures, and LiverTox rates cordyceps an unlikely cause of liver injury. Ask your doctor before taking more than a label directs.^1,3,11

See what we make

Every product shows its whole label and what its lab report covers. The store opens soon.

See the Full Measure line

Sources

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

This page is information, not medical advice. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about your own situation.