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.
An obvious caution is to stay away from cheap, mass-produced reishi. It may be merely dried and pulverized. In order to be medicinal, the mushroom cell-wall has to be broken down. Mass-produced reishi may be mostly inert and ineffective.
Then there are the real therapeutic grade red reishi brands, which are produced with much more care. But even here there are big differences between brands. Each claims to be the best, of course, because they want to sell their product. So lets set the facts straight and be independently informed consumers.
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 (Hot) Extraction (polysaccharides, etc.)
2. Alcohol Extraction (triterpenoids, sterols)
3. Fermenting (arabinoxylanes, etc.)
The most important hot water extracted compounds are the polysaccharides. Studies have shown them to possess strong anti-tumor properties, help boost immune system and be powerful antioxidants. [1]
Triterpenoids include a large number of related medicinal compounds whose proven effects include stabilization of blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood clotting. But most importantly, the triterpenoids are the anti-inflammatory compounds of reishi. [1] Inflammation is a serious component in asthma, allergies, arthritis and many more conditions.
Less researched are the “secondary metabolites” that come from fermenting reishi. “Secondary” because they result when the original medicinal compounds get broken down by bacteria. These new compounds have been shown to possess therapeutic properties that are unique, including immune enhancement, anti-tumor and blood-sugar regulation. [2]
This article is intended to give general guidelines to help you choose an effective reishi product, not to recommend any particular brand. But there are at least two reishi companies on the market which both state only hot water extract is useful while alcohol extracts are of no value.
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.
An additional point to keep in mind is the form the reishi comes in. Reishi that dissolves completely in a water-based liquid such as coffee probably only contains reishi from hot water extraction. As a substitute for regular coffee, this would be a superb health-choice. However, it will not contain the water-insoluble triterpenoids so valued for their anti-inflammatory properties.
Alcohol tinctures, on the other hand, are well worth considering because they may be a blend of water and alcohol extracts. The way to tell is if the tincture is cloudy. When water-soluble polysaccharides get mixed with alcohol, they fall out of solution. Cloudiness in an alcohol tincture indicates high polysaccharide content. Just shake before taking. Tablets and capsules can contain hot water extract, alcohol extract or both. You need to find out from the manufacturer.
[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.
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