Parts Most Frequently Used: Mushroom

Flavors/Temps: Bitter, Warming

Caution: Considered safe. Non-toxic, it can be taken daily.

Key Constituents: Triterpenes (called Ganoderic acids, which have a molecular structure similar to Steroid Hormones), Polysaccharides, Coumarin, Mannitol, Alkaloids. Isolated Sterols include: Ganoderol, Ganodereic acid, Ganoderiol, and Ganodermadiol, Carbohydrates, Amino acids, Lipids, Riboflavin.

History/Folklore:

The botanical name, “Ganoderma” derives from the Greek and Latin roots meaning “brightness or sheen” describing the appearance of the mushroom caps.

The Japanese name is Reishi. Other words for Reishi can be translated as “sage mushroom, grandchild ladle, and departure mushroom.”

The Chinese name is Ling Zhi. In Chinese, “Ling Zhi” is made up of the compounds, “Ling” meaning “spirit, soul, miraculous, sacred, divine, mysterious or effective” and “Zhi” meaning “plant of longevity, fungus, seed, branch, or mushroom”. “Ling Zhi” can mean “auspicious plant, divine mushroom, immortality plant, magic fungus or marvelous fungus.”

Reishi mushrooms encompass several fungal species of the genus Ganoderma. In TCM, six different types of G. lucidum are recognized. Each mushroom is classified by color and each has slightly different properties. The potent and commonly used variety is the red, identified as G. lucidum. G. sichuanense, is another variety of reishi with a slightly gray-purple coloring.

Reishi mushrooms have been used in Chinese Medicine for over 2,000 years, making them one of the oldest mushroom species known to be used medicinally. They were originally thought to be an elixir of life for gaining immortality. As such, they were valued by Taoist monks for both their properties of increasing health and aiding the development of spiritual experiences and understanding. Reishi was said to “absorb earthly vapors and leave a heavenly atmosphere.”

China has only two or three out of 10,000 aged trees that still have reishi mushrooms growing at their bases, making the wild variety extremely rare. In Japan, 99% of all wild mushrooms are found on old Japanese plum trees but are so rare that only a few are found per 100,000 plum trees.

The polysaccharides in the mushrooms provide the anticancer effect by preventing abnormal blood vessel formation while also boosting immunity. The triterpenes protect the liver, lower blood pressure and cholesterol, fight allergic responses triggered by histamine, and possess anticancer activity.

Reishi also enhances bone marrow nucleated cell production as well as increases white blood cells and hemoglobin. Studies report that G. lucidum extract can increase the secretion of cytokines from immune cells, which leads to increased cellular activity promoting immune cell survival and adaptation.