Anti-Inflammatory Mechanisms and Translational Relevance of Cordyceps sinensis and Its Bioactive Constituents

<i>Cordyceps sinensis</i>, an important medicinal fungus in traditional Chinese medicine, has gained increasing attention for its diverse pharmacological activities, particularly its anti-inflammatory properties. Its principal bioactive components, including cordycepin, cordycepic acid, polysaccharides, and sterols, exert significant protective effects in a wide range of inflammation-related diseases, primarily covering respiratory diseases, autoimmune disorders, neuroinflammatory conditions, and metabolic and gastrointestinal syndromes. These compounds act mainly by modulating key signaling pathways, including NF-κB, MAPK, TLR4/MyD88, PI3K/Akt, JAK/STAT, and Nrf2/HO-1. This review summarizes recent progress in the identification of anti-inflammatory components of <i>Cordyceps sinensis</i> and their mechanisms of action, highlights current challenges in clinical translation, and outlines future research directions. Collectively, these findings emphasize the broad potential of <i>Cordyceps sinensis</i> as a multi-target natural product-based anti-inflammatory therapy.