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Therapeutic efficacy and safety of Reishi: an overview of recent systematic reviews
Abstract
Ganoderma lucidum, also called "Reishi" or "Ling-Zhi", is a traditional medicinal mushroom widely used for the treatment of several health conditions and for the support of the immune system. The present review aims to investigate potential therapeutic uses of orally administered Reishi, as well as its safety and tolerability in clinical practice. To date, high quality clinical evidence on the therapeutic efficacy of Reishi is scant. Overall, based on existing data, it can be concluded that G. lucidum may be useful as an adjunct complementary therapy for its immunomodulatory and anti-proliferative properties. In general, Reishi is considered safe and well-tolerated, although data are limited, and its possible liver toxicity, as well as its interaction with other drugs, needs to be investigated in depth. Further studies on the topic are encouraged. CITE AS: Antonelli, M., & Donelli, D. (2019). Therapeutic efficacy and safety of Reishi: an overview of recent systematic reviews. Nutrition 4 Health, 4(2), 23–29.
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Objectives:
A systematic review was undertaken of the evidence on the use of Hericium erinaceus (Reishi), Ganoderma lucidum (Lion's Mane), Ophiocordyceps sinensis (Cordyceps) and Cordyceps militaris (Cordyceps), dietary supplementation on cognitive impairment outcomes.
Methods:
Relevant articles were identified in major databases (PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and SCOPUS). Key search words were Hericium erinaceus, Ganoderma lucidum, Ophiocordyceps sinensis, Lion's mane, Reishi, Cordyceps, cognitive, memory, dementia, Alzheimer's. Included studies were peer-reviewed in-vivo articles published in English before January 2019, with cognitive outcomes.
Results:
Twenty-five (25) of 194 studies met the inclusion criteria: eight (8) studies on lion's mane mushroom, seven (7) studies on reishi mushroom and ten (10) studies on cordyceps mushroom. Three (3) randomized-controlled trials were included in this review. Studies varied by animals used, preparation of supplement, dosage and duration of supplementation, and cognitive outcomes. Twenty-two (22) animal studies found positive results (P < 0.05) on at least one of the doses tested for at least one cognitive impairment outcome. Of the human trials, two (2) studies found positive results (P < 0.05) on at least one of the cognitive assessments.
Conclusions:
Despite heterogeneous study design, the results of this review suggest that dietary supplementation with lion's mane, reishi and cordyceps mushrooms may have a beneficial effect on cognitive impairment. Further clinical research studies are needed to demonstrate the potential medicinal benefits of dietary mushroom supplementation in humans with cognitive impairments.
Funding sources:
No external funding.
Ganoderma is a significant source of natural fungal medicines and has been used for the treatment of various diseases for many years. However, the use of Ganoderma in cancer immunotherapy is poorly elucidated. In this study, we have analyzed 2,398 English-language papers and 6,968 Chinese-language papers published between 1987 and 2017 by using bibliometrics. A steady growth in the number of publications was observed before 2004, followed by an exponential increase between 2004 and 2017. The most common category for publications about Ganoderma was “Pharmacology & Pharmacy,” in which immunomodulation (25.60%) and cancer treatment (21.40%) were the most popular subcategories. Moreover, we have provided an overview of the bioactive components and combinatorial immunomodulatory effects for the use of Ganoderma in the treatment of cancer, including the major pathways of immune cells. Immunomodulatory protein and polysaccharides are the key bioactive factors responsible for cancer immunotherapy, and the NF-κB and MAPK pathways are the most comprehensively investigated major pathways. Our results indicate that Ganoderma has a broad-spectrum application for the treatment of cancer through the regulation of the immune system. This review provides guidance for future research into the role of Ganoderma in cancer immunotherapy.
Ganoderma lucidum
(Reishi) is a popular medicinal mushroom and has been used in oriental medicine because of its promoting effects on health and life expectancy.G. lucidumcontains various compounds with a high grade of biological activty, which increase the immunity and show antitumour, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity. Several of these substances belong to the triterpenoids and polysaccharides classes. Proteins, lipids, phenols, sterols, etc. are also present. In the present review, an extensive overview of the presence of antitumour, antimicrobial, antioxidant and antiacetylcholinesterase compounds inG. lucidumextracts will be given, along with an evaluation of their therapeutic effects.
The medicinal fungus Ganoderma lucidum has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for millennia to improve health and promote longevity. The idea of using G. lucidum for cancer treatment is based on numerous laboratory and preclinical studies with cancer and immune cells as well as animal models demonstrating various biological activities in vitro and in vivo. For example, G. lucidum possesses cytotoxic, cytostatic, antimetastatic, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulating activities. Limited clinical studies, including case reports and randomized controlled trials, suggest G. lucidum as an alternative adjunct therapy for stimulating the immune system in cancer patients. To confirm the efficacy of G. lucidum in cancer treatment, systematic translational research programs should be started worldwide. In addition, only standardized preclinically evaluated, biologically active G. lucidum extracts should be used in alternative treatments. This approach will lead to the development of standardized G. lucidum preparations with specific chemical fingerprint-associated anticancer activities.
© The Author(s) 2015.
Hepatotoxic effect related to Ganoderma lucidum (Lingzhi) mushroom powder was first described in a patient from Hong Kong in 2004. In 2005, the authors experienced a case of fatal fulminant hepatitis associated with such a preparation. Both patients had taken other therapeutic agents and traditionally boiled Lingzhi without any toxic effect. After switching to taking Lingzhi in powder form for 1-2 months, the hepatotoxic episode occurred in both patients. The toxic role of Lingzhi powder needs close monitoring in the future, especially in combination with other drugs.
Cancer is one of the most common severe diseases in Canadian children, and chemotherapy treatment leads to numerous, potentially fatal, adverse side effects including febrile neutropenia and leukopenia. In an attempt to prevent opportunistic infections, Ganoderma lucidum, a mushroom that has been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for thousands of years, is being used by some people as an adjunctive to chemotherapy to help boost the immune system. Although extensive research is being conducted to determine its immunostimulatory properties, there is essentially no data on toxicity.
The purpose of this study was to determine toxicity of low and high concentrations of 3 different extracts of G. lucidum (GL, Reishi and PSGL) on the viability of 1) Jurkat E6.1 cells, 2) LG2 cells, and 3) PBMCs isolated from a) healthy adults, b) healthy children, and c) paediatric patients undergoing chemotherapy.
When Jurkat E6.1 and LG2 cells were treated with increasing concentrations of the 3 extracts, both time- and concentration- dependent decreases in cell viability were observed. However, when human PBMCs were treated with the same extracts, variable results were obtained. Although there was no consistent pattern, toxicity was observed in PBMCs.
This is the first study that examines the toxicity of 3 different extracts of G. lucidum in both adultsâ and children's PBMCs. Contrary to previous belief, our results suggest that extracts of G. lucidum should be used with caution as there appears to be potential for toxicity.
The medical mushroom Ganoderma lucidum (Reishi), a traditional Chinese medicine, has exhibited a promising anti-cancer effect. However, the molecular mechanism of its action on cancer cells remains unclear. Aberrant activation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway is the cause of many types of cancer, including breast cancer. Here we investigated the effect of Reishi on Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway and elucidated the molecular mechanism of its function in inhibiting breast cancer cells. We found that Reishi blocked Wnt/β-catenin signaling through inhibiting the phosphorylation of Wnt co-receptor LRP6. In human (MDA-MB-231) and mouse (4T1) breast cancer cell lines, Reishi significantly decreased the phosphorylation of LRP6 and suppressed Wnt3a-activated Wnt target gene Axin2 expression. Administration of Reishi inhibited Wnt-induced hyper-proliferation of breast cancer cells and MDA-MB-231 cell migration. Our results provide evidence that Reishi suppresses breast cancer cell growth and migration through inhibiting Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, indicating that Reishi may be a potential natural inhibitor for breast cancer.
Lingzhi (Ganoderma lucidum) is a woody mushroom highly regarded in traditional medicine and is widely consumed in the belief that it promotes health and longevity, lowers the risk of cancer and heart disease and boosts the immune system. However, objective scientific validation of the putative health benefits of Lingzhi in human subjects is lacking, and issues of possible toxicity must be addressed. The present double-blinded, placebo-controlled, cross-over intervention study investigated the effects of 4 weeks Lingzhi supplementation on a range of biomarkers for antioxidant status, CHD risk, DNA damage, immune status, and inflammation, as well as markers of liver and renal toxicity. It was performed as a follow-up to a study that showed that antioxidant power in plasma increased after Lingzhi ingestion, and that 10 d supplementation was associated with a trend towards an improved CHD biomarker profile. In the present study, fasting blood and urine from healthy, consenting adults (n 18; aged 22-52 years) was collected before and after 4 weeks supplementation with a commercially available encapsulated Lingzhi preparation (1.44 g Lingzhi/d; equivalent to 13.2 g fresh mushroom/d) or placebo. No significant change in any of the variables was found, although a slight trend toward lower lipids was again seen, and antioxidant capacity in urine increased. The results showed no evidence of liver, renal or DNA toxicity with Lingzhi intake, and this is reassuring. The present study of the effects in healthy, well-nourished subjects provides useful, new scientific data that will support controlled intervention trials using at-risk subjects in order to assess the therapeutic effect of Lingzhi in the promotion of healthy ageing.
Ganoderma lucidum is a wood-degrading basidiomycete with numerous pharmacological effects. Since the mushroom is very rare in nature, artificial cultivation of fruiting bodies has been known on wood logs and on sawdust in plastic bags or bottles. Biotechnological cultivation of G. lucidum mycelia in bioreactors has also been established, both on solid substrates and in liquid media by submerged cultivation of fungal biomass. The most important pharmacologically active constituents of G. lucidum are triterpenoids and polysaccharides. Triterpenoids have been reported to possess hepatoprotective, anti-hypertensive, hypocholesterolemic and anti-histaminic effects, anti-tumor and anti-engiogenic activity, effects on platelet aggregation and complement inhibition. Polysaccharides, especially beta-d-glucans, have been known to possess anti-tumor effects through immunomodulation and anti-angiogenesis. In addition, polysaccharides have a protective effect against free radicals and reduce cell damage caused by mutagens.
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