Known as reishi or mannentake to the Japanese and
Ling Zhi to the Chinese, G. lucidum is renown for its medicinal properties. Reishi
often is associated with health and recuperation, longevity, wisdom,
and happiness. It is believed that certain triterpenes and polysaccharides
may account for the multiple activities of Reshi. Thus, considerable
time and effort has gone into the isolation and characterization of
these compounds.
Reishi is a basidiomycete, lamellaless fungus belonging
to the family of polyporaceae. In nature, it grows in densely wooded
mountains of high humidity and dim lighting. It is rarely found since
it flourishes mainly on the dried trunks of dead plum, guercus serrata
or pasonia trees. Out of 10,000 such aged trees, perhaps 2 or 3 will
have reishi growth, therefore it is very scarce indeed.
Relatively rare and undiscovered in the West, Reishi
and other mushrooms have been revered as herbal medicines for thousands
of years in Japan and China. Emperors of the great Chinese dynasties
and Japanese royalty drank teas and concoctions of the mushroom for
vitality and long life. The ancient Taoists were constantly searching
for the elixir of eternal youth, and Reishi was believed to be among
the ingredients.
In ancient time, reishi in medicine was considered
so auspicious that its medical efficacy has been attested to in the
oldest Chinese medical text (presumed to be over 2,000 years old).
The book, which is known in Japan as "Shinnoh Honsohkyo",
is now accepted as being the original textbook of Oriental medical
science. In it, 365 kinds of medicines are classified and explained.
The medicines are basically classified into 3 categories: 120 of them
are declared to be "superior" medicines, another 120 are
classified as "average" medicines, and the remaining 125
are placed in the "fair" category. The "superior"
medicines are called "God's Herbs" and they are for perpetual
youth and longevity - the medicines of the legendary wizards. The "average" category
medicines are those which can be taken as a tonic, and those in the "fair"
category are taken to remedy specific ailments. One must be careful
about the volume taken of the "average" and "fair"
category medicines, and should never take them continuously. However,
the book states that for "superior" medicines, any amount
can be taken as desired on a continuous basis with no unfavorable effects.
Of the superior medicines listed in the text, reishi was rated number
one.
Although Ganoderma and its derivatives are not pharmaceuticals
and have not undergone rigorous clinical trials to be tested against
cancer, there is abundant in vitro, animal and indirect clinical evidence
to support its supplemental use in cancer. Standardization in bioactive
polysaccharide content and dosages will be necessary to assure its
rational use, and clinical trials in select cancers with defined endpoints
will confirm its efficacy.
Former heart surgeon Dr. Fukumi Morishige, a leading
authority on vitamin C in Japan, reports that when
Reishi and vitamin C are combined the results against cancer and other
diseases are far better than when Reishi is ingested. This is because
the vitamin makes the polysaccharides more accessible to the immune
system.
Another
very powerful cancer cells inhibitoror is herbal formula Ping Xiao.
Reishi has long been known to extend life span,
increase youthful vigor and vitality. It also promotes good blood circulation
by eliminating thrombi in the blood streams. As a result, the person
feels renewed vitality. Deterioration of mind and body is arrested.
Reishi is indeed a herb with multiple applications.
Chemopreventive effects of plant polysaccharides [Aloe
barbadensis Miller (APS), Lentinus edodes (LPS), Ganoderma lucidum
(GPS) and Coriolus versicolor (CPS)] were compared using in vitro short-term
screening methods associated with both initiation and promotion processes
in carcinogenesis. In induction of glutathione S-transferase activity,
GPS was found to be the most effective among plant polysaccharides. These
results suggest that some plant polysaccharides produced both anti-genotoxic
and anti-tumor promoting activities in in vitro models and, therefore,
might be considered as potential agents for cancer chemoprevention.
Conclusively, clinical observations have indisputable
proof of reishi's efficacy against cholesterosis, arteriosclerosis,
hypertension, fatty liver, hemorrhoid, tooth-infections, obesity and
various problems that arise from high serum cholesterol level compounded
by a lack of blood circulation.
Reishi is also recognized to have some effect in cases
of stroke, cerebravascular accident, coronary
insufficiency, myocardial infarction, phlebitis etc. - problems
that arise directly from arterial blockage. Furthermore, it is found
to be effective in treatment of typical dermatitis,
bronchitis asthma, allergy rhinitis, chronic hepatitis etc.
- problems related to allergic reactions. Reishi
inhibits thrombi to facilitate medication absorption; it also has an
additive effect that strengthens the prostate gland situated between
the bladder and the urinary tract. It has the same effect on the early
stage of diabetes mellitus. Bladder infection is accompanied by the
usual thrombi formation. Treatments with reishi arrest the latter thus
eliminating complications within a short period. Other clinical tests
showed that administering reishi instead of insulin can reverse blood
sugar level back to normal after one year.
The fruit bodies of Ganoderma lucidum have been used
for the prevention and treatment of various diseases in the Orient.
Its antitumor and immune enhancing properties, along with no cytotoxicity,
raise the possibility that it could be effective in preventing oxidative
damage and resulting disease. Using agarose gel electrophoresis, the
potential of Ganoderma lucidum extract as a radioprotector and antioxidant
defense against oxygen radical-mediated damage was evaluated. The results
clearly demonstrate that the hot-water extract of Ganoderma lucidum
shows good radioprotective ability, as well as protection against DNA
damage induced by metal-catalyzed Fenton reactions and UV irradiation.
The data suggest that Ganoderma mushroom merits investigation as a
potential preventive agent in humans.
Administration of hot water soluble extracts of Ganoderma
lucidum (36 to 72 g dry weight/day) decreased pain dramatically in
two patients with postherpetic neuralgia recalcitrant to standard therapy
and two other patients with severe pain due to herpes zoster infection.
This review highlights some of the recently isolated
and identified substances of higher Basidiomycetes mushrooms origin
that express promising antitumor, immune modulating, cardiovascular
and hypercholesterolemia, antiviral, antibacterial, and antiparasitic
effects.
Medicinal mushrooms have a long history of use in
folk medicine. In particular, mushrooms useful
against cancers of the stomach, esophagus, lungs, etc. are known
in China, Russia, Japan, Korea, as well as the U.S.A. and Canada. There
are about 200 species of mushrooms that have been found to markedly
inhibit the growth of different kinds of tumors. Searching for new
antitumor and other medicinal substances from mushrooms and to study
the medicinal value of these mushrooms have become a matter of great
significance. However, most of the mushroom origin antitumor substances
have not been clearly defined. Several antitumor polysaccharides such
as hetero-beta-glucans and their protein complexes (e.g., xyloglucans
and acidic beta-glucan-containing uronic acid), as well as dietary
fibers, lectins, and terpenoids have been isolated from medicinal mushrooms.
In Japan, Russia, China, and the U.S.A. several different polysaccharide
antitumor agents have been developed from the fruiting body, mycelia,
and culture medium of various medicinal mushrooms (Lentinus edodes,
Ganoderma lucidum, Schizophyllum commune, Trametes versicolor, Inonotus
obliquus, and Flammulina velutipes). Both cellular components and secondary
metabolites of a large number of mushrooms have been shown to effect
the immune system of the host and therefore could be used to treat
a variety of disease states.
As recorded in the oldest Chinese medical text, reishi
is the "king of herbs", the superior herb for perpetual youth
and longevity. Continuous intake will achieve the best results.
For more information about Ling Zhi click here
- Linda McGlasson, Assistant Editor. Health Foods
Business/January 1992 Consumer Education Series. Reishi: Ancient Medicine
Is Modern Hope
- Kim HS, Kacew S, Lee BM. Carcinogenesis 1999 Aug;20(8):1637-40. In
vitro chemopreventive effects of plant polysaccharides (Aloe barbadensis
miller, Lentinus edodes, Ganoderma lucidum and Coriolus versicolor).
- Kim KC, Kim IG. Int J Mol Med 1999 Sep;4(3):273-7. Ganoderma lucidum
extract protects DNA from strand breakage caused by hydroxyl radical
and UV irradiation.
- Hijikata Y, Yamada S. Am J Chin Med 1998;26(3-4):375-81 Effect of
Ganoderma lucidum on postherpetic neuralgia.
- Wasser SP, Weis AL. Crit Rev Immunol 1999;19(1):65-96. Therapeutic
effects of substances occurring in higher Basidiomycetes mushrooms:
a modern perspective. International Centre for Cryptogamic Plants and
Fungi, Institute of Evolution, University of Haifa, Israel.
