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Active, not recruitingNCT07135193Updated Aug 21, 2025

Evaluation of the Protective Effects of Cordyceps Cicadae on Visual Function and Anti-Fatigue Performance in Esports Athletes

An interventional study of Cordyceps cicadae and Blank control in Visual Acuity, Accommodation and Dry Eye, sponsored by China Medical University Hospital. Active, not recruiting at 1 site in Taiwan. Open to participants aged 30 Years to 60 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-08-21.

Sponsored by China Medical University Hospital · Not applicable, Interventional, and Supportive care

From the registry’s dates

  • Primary completion was expected by Aug 2025, 1 year 1 month ago, but the record still lists the study as active, not recruiting.
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
12
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
30 Years to 60 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The objective of this study is to evaluate, through a clinical human consumption trial, the effects of taking two capsules (each containing 250 mg of Cordyceps cicadae mycelium, for a total intake of 500 mg per dose) of Grape King Cordyceps cicadae mycelium on visual function and anti-fatigue performance in esports athletes.

Read the detailed description

This study aims to enroll 12 participants (aged 20-30 years), who are esports players, through oral announcements for recruitment. The anticipated source of participants will be students from the Department of Multimedia Game Development and Applications, Hungkuang University of Science and Technology, second-year and above.

On the day prior to the trial, participants will undergo a baseline ophthalmic examination (serving as the control values). Following the baseline assessment, participants will undergo ophthalmic examinations after 1 hour and 2 hours of esports training, respectively, resulting in a total of three measurements. All data will be recorded in the case report form (CRF).

On the day of the trial, participants will first undergo an ophthalmic examination. After completion, all 12 participants will be randomly allocated into groups using the QuickCalcs randomization tool (GraphPad Software, https://www.graphpad.com/quickcalcs/randomize1/). Based on the random allocation, capsule packages labeled with codes 001 to 012 will be prepared, containing either the investigational product or placebo. Each package will be distributed to the corresponding participant. Of the 12 participants, 3 will be assigned to the placebo group, and 9 will be assigned to the Cordyceps cicadae mycelium group.

Participants will undergo ophthalmic examinations at 1 hour and 2 hours post-administration, and the results will be recorded in the CRF.

The investigational product will be in capsule form, containing Cordyceps cicadae mycelium (250 mg per capsule) and excipients, with no other additives. The placebo will have the same excipients and capsule composition, except without the mycelium. Each participant will take a single oral dose on the test day (2 capsules). All investigational products and placebos will be provided by Grape King Bio Ltd.

02

Conditions studied

  • Visual Acuity
  • Accommodation
  • Dry Eye

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03

In context

Dry Eye Syndromes

1,292 studies on the registry are indexed under Dry Eye Syndromes; 191 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 12 is below the median of 60 across 1,077 interventional studies indexed under Dry Eye Syndromes.

Browse Dry Eye Syndromes studies →

Lead sponsor

China Medical University Hospital is the lead sponsor of 464 studies on the registry; 116 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
30 Years to 60 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

  • People with myopia less than 700 degrees
  • Willing to participate in this study and sign the consent form

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • (1) Those who have recently consumed related eye care products
  • (2) Those who have had eye infections or surgery in the past three months
  • (3) Those who have been diagnosed with eye diseases by an ophthalmologist (such as glaucoma, cataracts, macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, etc., or have undergone eye surgery such as cataract surgery, retinal laser surgery, myopia laser surgery, etc., which will be excluded before accepting the case)
  • (4) Those who are allergic to cicada fungus
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Supportive care
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Quadruple (Participant, Care provider, Investigator, Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
12 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Experimental Arm

    Cordyceps cicadae 500mg

    Dietary Supplement: Cordyceps cicadae

  • Placebo comparator
    Placebo Comparator Arm

    Placebo

    Dietary Supplement: Blank control

Interventions

  • Dietary supplementCordyceps cicadae

    Cordyceps cicadae 500mg

  • Dietary supplementBlank control

    Blank control

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Tear break-up time

    Tear film break-up time (TBUT) on the corneal surface will be recorded in seconds using corneal topography.

    Time frame: 3 hours

  2. Eye fatigue questionnaire

    The Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) was used to assess visual fatigue. The subjects were asked to fill in the questionnaire before and after taking the medicine, and the scores were calculated. Symptoms include eyestrain, discomfort, burning, irritation, pain, soreness, eye pain, double vision, photophobia, blurriness, itching, tearing, dryness, and foreign body sensation

    Time frame: 3 hours

  3. Accommodative Facility

    Use +/- 0.50D flip mirror and special optometry cards to test the number of optometry cards that the patient can read within one minute and record the number of flip cycles.

    Time frame: 3 hours

  4. Visual acuity measurement

    Examinations include (a) distance visual acuity (DVA) and (b) near visual acuity (NVA), recorded using the Snellen chart.

    Time frame: 3 hours

  5. Intraocular Pressure

    The intraocular pressure (IOP) of the subjects was measured by non-contact intraocular pressure measurement in mmHg.

    Time frame: 3 hours

  6. Tear meniscus height (TMH)

    Tear meniscus height (TMH) will be evaluated using slit-lamp biomicroscopy and recorded in millimeters.

    Time frame: 3 hours

  7. Meibomian gland observation

    The meibomian glands will be evaluated using corneal topography to document their morphology, quantity, and size.

    Time frame: 3 hours

07

Study locations

1 site
  • Chung Shan Medical University Hui-Wen Lin lab
    Taichung, Taiwan
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No — This experiment involves patents and intellectual property rights

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Aug 21, 2025, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT07135193
Lead sponsor
China Medical University Hospital
Responsible party
Hui Wen Lin (Ph.D, China Medical University Hospital) — Principal investigator
First posted
Aug 21, 2025
Start date
Aug 12, 2025
Primary completion
Aug 13, 2025 (estimated)
Completion
Dec 31, 2025 (estimated)
Last update
Aug 21, 2025

Study contacts

Hui-Wen Lin, Ph.D
principal investigator · Chung Shang medical university

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is active, not recruiting, as verified in Aug 2025. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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