Medicinal mushrooms have been immensely popular in Asia for millennia. Today, Americans are waking up to these powerful nutraceuticals. In the wake of this new awareness follow issues of product quality claims made by competing brands.
All species of medicinal mushrooms appear haunted by this issue. Particularly so, it seems, is red reishi (Ganoderma lucidum), the oldest medicinal mushroom in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Please note, however, that the information in this article applies generally to all medicinal mushroom species.
The first and perhaps obvious caution is to stay away from cheap mass-produced brands of medicinal mushrooms that may only contain dried and pulverized mushrooms, in which case the medicinal compounds are still inaccessible behind the mushrooms' cell walls.
There are many real therapeutic brands on the market, though. But even among them, there are significant differences. They all claim to be the best, naturally, because they all want to sell their particular brand. So let's sift the data, get the facts straight, and clear up misleading information that is out there.
There are primarily three ways to extract the medicinal compounds from red reishi. Each method pulls out different compounds, all of which have been proven by scientific research to be therapeutically important.
1. Water Extraction, Hot (polysaccharides and more)
2. Alcohol/Ethanol Extraction (triterpenoids, etc.)
3. Fermented (arabinoxylanes, etc.)
The water soluble compounds, primarily polysaccharides, are powerful anti-tumor agents, immune enhancers and strong antioxidants. [1]
Through alcohol extraction, we get triterpenoids, a large group of lipids with many sub-groups. Research shows triterpenoids help regulate clotting, blood pressure and cholesterol. More importantly, they are the anti-inflammatory compounds that are the reason why reishi often gets recommended for arthritis, asthma and allergies. [1]
And then there are the new and unique medicinal compounds that get created when reishi is fermented. These "secondary metabolites" have their own therapeutic properties, different from the first two groups, including anti-tumor, immune support and blood-sugar balance. [2]
This article is not meant to recommend any particular brand so none will be mentioned by name. But the author does know of two reishi companies (Japanese and American) that both claim only hot water extract of reishi is effective and that alcohol extracts are of no use.
Naturally, the reason they say so is because they want to sell their own brand. However, those statements are scientifically untrue. Hot water and alcohol extractions both contain critical compounds.
When looking for the best reishi extract, find one that uses at least the first two extraction methods in combination: Hot Water and Alcohol Extraction. Even better may be a brand that includes all three methods listed.
As a last point, when you look for the best reishi extract, one thing to look at is the form it comes in. For example, any reishi extract that fully dissolves in a water-based liquid such as coffee probably only contains hot water extracted reishi. So while reishi/ganoderma coffee certainly makes for a superbly delicious and healthy cup loaded with polysaccharides, it won't include the important anti-inflammatory triterpenoids.
On the other hand, alcohol tinctures can actually contain both water soluble polysaccharides and alcohol soluble triterpenoids. The way you know is that the polysaccharides will fall out of solution because of the alcohol, and will make the tincture cloudy. That's alright though; you just need to shake before you take. Capsules and tablets may be one or the other or both. The only way to know is ask the manufacturer or read their information.
[1] Boh B, Berovic M, Zhang J, Zhi-Bin L. "Ganoderma lucidum and its pharmaceutically active compounds." Biotechnol Annu Rev. 2007;13:265-301.
[2] Tang YJ, Zhang W, Zhong JJ. "Performance analyses of a pH-shift and DOT-shift integrated fed-batch fermentation process for the production of ganoderic acid and Ganoderma polysaccharides by medicinal mushroom Ganoderma lucidum." Bioresour Technol. 2009 Mar;100(5):1852-9. - 29291
All species of medicinal mushrooms appear haunted by this issue. Particularly so, it seems, is red reishi (Ganoderma lucidum), the oldest medicinal mushroom in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Please note, however, that the information in this article applies generally to all medicinal mushroom species.
The first and perhaps obvious caution is to stay away from cheap mass-produced brands of medicinal mushrooms that may only contain dried and pulverized mushrooms, in which case the medicinal compounds are still inaccessible behind the mushrooms' cell walls.
There are many real therapeutic brands on the market, though. But even among them, there are significant differences. They all claim to be the best, naturally, because they all want to sell their particular brand. So let's sift the data, get the facts straight, and clear up misleading information that is out there.
There are primarily three ways to extract the medicinal compounds from red reishi. Each method pulls out different compounds, all of which have been proven by scientific research to be therapeutically important.
1. Water Extraction, Hot (polysaccharides and more)
2. Alcohol/Ethanol Extraction (triterpenoids, etc.)
3. Fermented (arabinoxylanes, etc.)
The water soluble compounds, primarily polysaccharides, are powerful anti-tumor agents, immune enhancers and strong antioxidants. [1]
Through alcohol extraction, we get triterpenoids, a large group of lipids with many sub-groups. Research shows triterpenoids help regulate clotting, blood pressure and cholesterol. More importantly, they are the anti-inflammatory compounds that are the reason why reishi often gets recommended for arthritis, asthma and allergies. [1]
And then there are the new and unique medicinal compounds that get created when reishi is fermented. These "secondary metabolites" have their own therapeutic properties, different from the first two groups, including anti-tumor, immune support and blood-sugar balance. [2]
This article is not meant to recommend any particular brand so none will be mentioned by name. But the author does know of two reishi companies (Japanese and American) that both claim only hot water extract of reishi is effective and that alcohol extracts are of no use.
Naturally, the reason they say so is because they want to sell their own brand. However, those statements are scientifically untrue. Hot water and alcohol extractions both contain critical compounds.
When looking for the best reishi extract, find one that uses at least the first two extraction methods in combination: Hot Water and Alcohol Extraction. Even better may be a brand that includes all three methods listed.
As a last point, when you look for the best reishi extract, one thing to look at is the form it comes in. For example, any reishi extract that fully dissolves in a water-based liquid such as coffee probably only contains hot water extracted reishi. So while reishi/ganoderma coffee certainly makes for a superbly delicious and healthy cup loaded with polysaccharides, it won't include the important anti-inflammatory triterpenoids.
On the other hand, alcohol tinctures can actually contain both water soluble polysaccharides and alcohol soluble triterpenoids. The way you know is that the polysaccharides will fall out of solution because of the alcohol, and will make the tincture cloudy. That's alright though; you just need to shake before you take. Capsules and tablets may be one or the other or both. The only way to know is ask the manufacturer or read their information.
[1] Boh B, Berovic M, Zhang J, Zhi-Bin L. "Ganoderma lucidum and its pharmaceutically active compounds." Biotechnol Annu Rev. 2007;13:265-301.
[2] Tang YJ, Zhang W, Zhong JJ. "Performance analyses of a pH-shift and DOT-shift integrated fed-batch fermentation process for the production of ganoderic acid and Ganoderma polysaccharides by medicinal mushroom Ganoderma lucidum." Bioresour Technol. 2009 Mar;100(5):1852-9. - 29291
About the Author:
Dr. Rafael has worked with natural health since the early 90's, currently focusing on medicinal mushrooms. He partners with Davida Sara on red reishi extract and cordyceps extract plus the newly popular mesima mushroom and many more.
