This mushroom has been extensively used in Asian medicine for 2000 years. In Asia it is known as the lingzhi or reishi mushroom. It is regarded as "the mushroom of immortality" and is used as a symbol of longevity on Chinese ceramics . Reishi comes from the Chinese name ruizhi 瑞芝 which means "auspicious mushroom". Both Chinese Ling and Zhi have multiple meanings so Lingzhi has English translations that include, Possessed of soul power, Herb of Spiritual Potency or Mushroom of Immortality, Numinous or divine mushroom, Magic Fungus and Marvelous Fungus.
A Translation of the Divine Farmer's Materia Medica, a Chinese book written down between 200 and 300 BC said the reishi mushroom "mainly treats binding in the chest, boosts the heart qi, supplements the center, sharpens the wits, and [causes people] not to forget. Protracted taking may make the body light, prevent senility, and prolong life so as to make one an immortal.
Western science has studied Ganoderma Lucidum species extensively and found they contain approximately 400 different bioactive compounds and a very wide range of medical effects. The list is astounding.
Ganoderma Lucidum has been found to:
Description: Ganoderma Lucidum is a polypore mushroom that is soft (when fresh), corky, and flat, with a conspicuous red-varnished, kidney-shaped cap with white to dull brown pores underneath.
Where it is found: Ganoderma Lucidum is found worldwide in both tropical and temperate climates. It is a parasite that causes white rot on the many types of trees on which it grows at their base. However, it is extremely rare in the wild, only being found on old trees and on only two or three out of 10,000 of these.
As early as the Liang Dynasty 502-587 the Chinese were growing national mushrooms, as demonstrated by an illustrated text of that period, called Zhong Shenzhi 種神芝 "On the Planting and Cultivation of Magic Mushrooms".
Supplies today are cultivated both indoors and outdoors on logs or woodchip beds. Growing gourmet and Medicinal mushrooms by Mycologist Paul Stammets, tells you how.
How it is prepared: Thinly sliced, finely chopped or powdered fresh or dried reishi is added to a lidded pot of boiling water and simmered for two hours or more, yielding a very bitter and dark liquid which is drunk.
Supplements: These days Reishi extract can be taken as a capsule available from Fungi Health.
Further reading
A Translation of the Divine Farmer's Materia Medica, a Chinese book written down between 200 and 300 BC said the reishi mushroom "mainly treats binding in the chest, boosts the heart qi, supplements the center, sharpens the wits, and [causes people] not to forget. Protracted taking may make the body light, prevent senility, and prolong life so as to make one an immortal.
Western science has studied Ganoderma Lucidum species extensively and found they contain approximately 400 different bioactive compounds and a very wide range of medical effects. The list is astounding.
Ganoderma Lucidum has been found to:
- promote sleep
- relieve pain
- slow aging
- lower blood sugar and help treat diabetes
- be antibacterial, antiviral, anti-oxidative and anti-ulcerative
- lower cholestrol
- support the immune system
- protect liver function and treat hepatitis
- protect against the side-effects of chemotherapy and radiation
- be an effective add-on treatment for leukemia and carcinoma
Description: Ganoderma Lucidum is a polypore mushroom that is soft (when fresh), corky, and flat, with a conspicuous red-varnished, kidney-shaped cap with white to dull brown pores underneath.
Where it is found: Ganoderma Lucidum is found worldwide in both tropical and temperate climates. It is a parasite that causes white rot on the many types of trees on which it grows at their base. However, it is extremely rare in the wild, only being found on old trees and on only two or three out of 10,000 of these.
As early as the Liang Dynasty 502-587 the Chinese were growing national mushrooms, as demonstrated by an illustrated text of that period, called Zhong Shenzhi 種神芝 "On the Planting and Cultivation of Magic Mushrooms".
Supplies today are cultivated both indoors and outdoors on logs or woodchip beds. Growing gourmet and Medicinal mushrooms by Mycologist Paul Stammets, tells you how.
How it is prepared: Thinly sliced, finely chopped or powdered fresh or dried reishi is added to a lidded pot of boiling water and simmered for two hours or more, yielding a very bitter and dark liquid which is drunk.
Supplements: These days Reishi extract can be taken as a capsule available from Fungi Health.
Further reading
- Xie, J.T.; Wang, C.Z.; Wicks, S.; Yin, J.J.; Kong, J.; Li, J.; Li, Y.C.; Yuan, C.S. (2006). "Ganoderma lucidum extract inhibits proliferation of SW 480 human colorectal cancer cells". Exp Oncol 28 (1): 25–9. PMID 16614703.
- Müller, C.I.; Kumagai, T.; O’kelly, J.; Seeram, N.P.; Heber, D.; Koeffler, H.P. (2006). "Ganoderma lucidum causes apoptosis in leukemia, lymphoma and multiple myeloma cells". Leukemia Research 30 (7): 841–848. doi:10.1016/j.leukres.2005.12.004. PMID 16423392.
- Gao, Y.; Tang, W.; Dai, X.; Gao, H.; Chen, G.; Ye, J.; Chan, E.; Koh, H.L.; Li, X.; Zhou, S. (2005). "Effects of water-soluble Ganoderma lucidum polysaccharides on the immune functions of patients with advanced lung cancer". J Med FoodTimo H. J. 8 (2): 159–168. doi:10.1089/jmf.2005.8.159.
- Lindequist, U.; Niedermeyer, T.H.J. ; Jülich, W.D. (2005). "The pharmacological potential of mushrooms.". Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2 (3): 285–99. doi:10.1093/ecam/neh107. PMC 1193547. PMID 16136207.
- Tanaka, S.; Ko, K.; Kino, K.; Tsuchiya, K.; Yamashita, A.; Murasugi, A.; Sakuma, S.; Tsunoo, H. (1989). "Complete amino acid sequence of an immunomodulatory protein, ling zhi-8 (LZ-8). An immunomodulator from a fungus, Ganoderma lucidum, having similarity to immunoglobulin variable regions.". J. Biol. Chem. 264 (28): 16372–7. PMID 2570780.
- Murasugi, A.; Tanaka, S.; Komiyama, N.; Iwata, N.; Kino, K.; Tsunoo, H.; Sakuma, S. (1991). "Molecular cloning of a cDNA and a gene encoding an immunomodulatory protein, Ling Zhi-8, from a fungus, Ganoderma lucidum.". J. Biol. Chem. 266 (4): 2486–93. PMID 1990000.
- Curr Pharm Biotechnol. 2009 Dec;10(8):717-42.Ganoderma lucidum: a potent pharmacological macrofungus.Sanodiya BS1, Thakur GS, Baghel RK, Prasad GB, Bisen PS.
- Paterson RR (2006). "Ganoderma – a therapeutic fungal biofactory". Phytochemistry 67 (18): 1985–2001. doi:10.1002/chin.200650268. PMID 16905165.
- Reishi mushroom, Reishiessence.com.
- Smith JE, Rowan NJ, and Sullivan R (2001) Medicinal Mushrooms: Their Therapeutic Properties and Current Medical Usage with Special Emphasis on Cancer Treatments Cancer Research UK, p. 28.
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