ISO 4754:2022

INTERNATIONAL ISO
STANDARD 4754
First edition
2022-11
Traditional Chinese medicine —
Fermented Cordyceps powder
Médecine traditionnelle chinoise — Poudre de Cordyceps fermenté
Reference number
ISO 4754:2022(E)
© ISO 2022

---------------------- Page: 1 ----------------------
ISO 4754:2022(E)
COPYRIGHT PROTECTED DOCUMENT
© ISO 2022
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, or required in the context of its implementation, no part of this publication may
be reproduced or utilized otherwise in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, or posting on
the internet or an intranet, without prior written permission. Permission can be requested from either ISO at the address below
or ISO’s member body in the country of the requester.
ISO copyright office
CP 401 • Ch. de Blandonnet 8
CH-1214 Vernier, Geneva
Phone: +41 22 749 01 11
Email: copyright@iso.org
Website: www.iso.org
Published in Switzerland
ii
  © ISO 2022 – All rights reserved

---------------------- Page: 2 ----------------------
ISO 4754:2022(E)
Contents Page
Foreword .iv
Introduction .v
1 S c op e . 1
2 Nor m at i ve r ef er enc e s . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
4 Recommendations and requirements . 2
4.1 Characteristics. 2
4.2 T hin-layer chromatography (TLC) identification . 2
4.3 H igh-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) identification . 2
4.4 A mino acid analyser identification . 2
4.5 H eavy metals . 2
4.6 L oss on drying . 2
4.7 Residue on ignition . 2
4.8 M icrobial limit . 2
4.9 A flatoxins . 2
4.10 C ontent of total amino acids . 2
4.11 C ontent of mannitol . 2
4.12 C ontent of adenosine . 2
5 Te s t me t ho d . 3
5.1 Ch aracteristics. 3
5.2 T LC identification . . . 3
5.3 H PLC identification . 3
5.4 A mino acid analyser identification . 3
5.5 D etermination of heavy metals . 3
5.6 D etermination of loss on drying . 3
5.7 D etermination of residue on ignition . 3
5.8 M icroorganism examination . 3
5.9 D etermination of aflatoxin . 3
5.10 D etermination of total amino acids . 3
5.11 D etermination of mannitol . 3
5.12 D etermination of adenosine . 4
6 Te s t r ep or t . 4
Annex A (informative) Test method for identification by thin layer chromatography (TLC) .5
Annex B (informative) Test method for identification by high-performance liquid
chromatography (HPLC) . 7
Annex C (normative) Test method for deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequencing .10
Annex D (informative) Test method for adenosine by HPLC .12
Annex E (informative) Reference values of national and regional limits of heavy metals,
microbiological examination and aflatoxins .14
Bibliography .16
iii
© ISO 2022 – All rights reserved

---------------------- Page: 3 ----------------------
ISO 4754:2022(E)
Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards
bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out
through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical
committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International
organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work.
ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of
electrotechnical standardization.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are
described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the
different types of ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the
editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights. Details of
any patent rights identified during the development of the document will be in the Introduction and/or
on the ISO list of patent declarations received (see www.iso.org/patents).
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not
constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and
expressions related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to
the World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), see
www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html.
This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 249, Traditional Chinese medicine.
Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A
complete listing of these bodies can be found at www.iso.org/members.html.
iv
  © ISO 2022 – All rights reserved

---------------------- Page: 4 ----------------------
ISO 4754:2022(E)
Introduction
Cordyceps sinensis, known as “冬虫夏草”, Chinese Pinyin Dong Chong Xia Cao (winter worm, summer
plant), is a rare raw material used in traditional Chinese medicine. Cordyceps sinensis enjoys equal
popularity with ginseng and velvet and ranks first among these three tonic medicines. The use of
Cordyceps sinensis can be traced to AD 863, during the Tang Dynasty, in the Youyang Essays by Duan
Chengshi. In recent years, the efficacy of Cordyceps sinensis has been further confirmed and its extensive
and significant efficacy is acknowledged worldwide.
The bioactivities of Cordyceps sinensis include immunoregulation, anti-bacteria, anti-cancer, anti-
oxidation, anti-aging, blood sugar control and fat reduction. Due to the specific environment required
for the growth of Cordyceps sinensis, the resources of wild Cordyceps sinensis are limited. Increasing
market demand has therefore resulted in high prices. Driven by increased interest, wild Cordyceps
sinensis is facing extinction due to plunder digging, which impacts its natural ecological environment.
The culture of Cordyceps sinensis has become a hot topic of research, with a focus on liquid fermentation
technology. Fermented Cordyceps powder is manufactured with strain extracted from wild Cordyceps
sinensis by low-temperature liquid fermentation, simulating the growth environment of wild Cordyceps
sinensis. Quality control for fermented Cordyceps powder is complicated. There are many functional
active substances in fermented Cordyceps powder, including polysaccharide compounds, alkaloids
(Cordycepin), peptide compounds, sterols, terpenoids and other secondary metabolites. The content of
these substances in fermented Cordyceps sinensis determines to a large extent the quality and efficacy
of fermented Cordyceps powder. Traditional analytical methods vary and depend highly on experience.
It is difficult to determine the quality of fermented Cordyceps powder with existing methods.
A guarantee of the quality of fermented Cordyceps powder is crucial to ensure the quality and safety
of medicines and health products made from fermented Cordyceps powder. Exploring quality control
methods of fermented Cordyceps powder and creating a standard combining traditional Chinese
medicine characteristics and current technology will have profound influence on the industry of
fermented Cordyceps powder.
As national implementation can differ, national standards bodies are invited to modify the values given
in 4.5, 4.8 and 4.9. Reference values of national and regional limits of heavy metals, microbiological
examination and aflatoxins are given in Annex E.
v
© ISO 2022 – All rights reserved

---------------------- Page: 5 ----------------------
INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO 4754:2022(E)
Traditional Chinese medicine — Fermented Cordyceps
powder
1 S cope
This document specifies a set of requirements and a test method to control the quality of fermented
Cordyceps powder, including test items such as identification, assay, water content, residue on ignition,
microbial limit and heavy metals.
It is applicable to fermented Cordyceps powder which is produced by liquid fermentation with extracted
strain of Ophiocordyceps sinensis (Berk.).
2 Normat ive references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content
constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For
undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO 1762, Paper, board, pulps and cellulose nanomaterials — Determination of residue (ash content) on
ignition at 525 °C
ISO 6673, Green coffee — Determination of loss in mass at 105 degrees C
ISO 13903:2005, Animal feeding stuffs — Determination of amino acids content
ISO 18664, Traditional Chinese Medicine — Determination of heavy metals in herbal medicines used in
Traditional Chinese Medicine
ISO 22283, Traditional Chinese medicine — Determination of aflatoxins in natural products by LC-FLD
ISO 22467, Traditional Chinese medicine — Determination of microorganisms in natural products
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminology databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at https:// www .iso .org/ obp
— IEC Electropedia: available at https:// www .electropedia .org/
3.1
Ophiocordyceps sinensis (Berk.)
sac fungi parasite in bat moth larvae
3.2
fermented Cordyceps powder
dried powder of mycelium obtained by liquid fermentation of Ophiocordyceps sinensis (Berk.)
1
© ISO 2022 – All rights reserved

---------------------- Page: 6 ----------------------
ISO 4754:2022(E)
4 R ecommendations and requirements
4.1 Characteristics
The powder should be grey to greyish yellow, slightly fishy and salty.
4.2 Thin-layer chromat
...