Cordyceps militaris Promotes functional recovery after sciatic nerve crush injury in rabbits: A clinical evaluation

Background: Sciatic nerve injury—inducing substantial motor and sensory dysfunction—is the most devastating form of peripheral nerve injury. Improvement of functional recovery is still a significant challenge in regenerative veterinary medicine. A variety of natural bioactive components have been explored for the possibility of being useful in neuroregeneration like Cordyceps militaris.
Objectives: To investigate the clinical effect of local application of Cordyceps militaris powder on motor functional recovery after experimental sciatic nerve crush injury in rabbits.
Methods: Twenty-four adult rabbits underwent standardized sciatic nerve crush injury followed by randomization into control and treatment groups. Treatment group: Local application of Cordyceps militaris powder at the injury site; Clinical assessment was conducted every week until 8 weeks after surgery, with scoring of gait pattern, knuckling, muscular power and muscle atrophy using semi-quantitative scoring.
Results: Within 30 minutes post-operation, the defect was repaired in the same manner for both groups as previously described. Therefore, severe motor dysfunction symptoms such as heel crawling, significant knuckling and poor muscle strength were observed for both control and experimental groups at between postoperative days 7–14. Starting from Day 21, the treatment group showed a significantly faster functional recovery than controls with earlier return to normal gait, reduced knuckling and strength. On Day 28, treated animals exhibited increased normal movement and decreased muscle wasting. Late phase (Days49-56) functional stabilization of both groups was drawn closer, but the treatment group had consistently higher clinical scores reflecting improved neuromuscular recovery.
Conclusion: Cordyceps militaris application on muscle wound can promote both the rate and quality of functional recovery after sciatic nerve injury. These results indicate that this treatment accelerates reinnervation, maintains muscle integrity and improves overall motor performance.