| Summary: | <i>Cordyceps cicadae</i> (CC), an entomogenous fungus that has been reported to have therapeutic glaucoma, is a major cause of blindness worldwide and is characterized by progressive retinal ganglion cell (RGC) death, mostly due to elevated intraocular pressure (IOP). Here, an ethanolic extract of <i>C. cicadae</i> mycelium (CCME), a traditional medicinal mushroom, was studied for its potential in lowering IOP in rat and rabbit models. Data showed that CCME could significantly (60.5%) reduce the IOP induced by microbead occlusion after 56 days of oral administration. The apoptosis of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) in rats decreased by 77.2%. CCME was also shown to lower the IOP of normal and dextrose-infusion-induced rabbits within 60 min after oral feeding. There were dose effects, and the effect was repeatable. The active ingredient, N6-(2-hydroxyethyl)-adenosine (HEA), was also shown to alleviate 29.6% IOP at 0.2 mg/kg body weight in this rabbit model. CCME was confirmed with only minor inhibition in the phosphorylated myosin light chain 2 (pMLC2) pathway.
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