Reishi

Functions of Reishi

• Nourishes and regulates the nervous system: Reishi acts by supporting the adrenal glands and activating the regulatory functions of our body. By nourishing the adrenal glands, we are strengthening the nervous system from its roots.
• Adaptogen: an adaptogen, as the word indicates, helps us reconnect with the ability to adapt to different levels of stress, both internal and external changes.
• Immunoregulator: unlike medicinal plants like echinacea, which act unidirectionally by stimulating the immune system so that it activates defenses to protect against pathogens, immunoregulatory medicinal mushrooms like Reishi act bidirectionally. They send information to our body and act according to its needs, which are different for each person and vary depending on whether our immune system is overactivated or in a passive state.
• Tonic for cardiac function and the cardiovascular system.
• Tonic for the lungs and respiratory system.
• Tonic and liver protector.
• Antitumoral.
• Anxiolytic: Reishi is known for its ability to calm and balance the mind and emotions.
• Antihistamine.
• Reducer of blood pressure.

Active principles of Reishi

• Beta-glucans: we highlight the triterpenes, with more than 140 components, one of the most relevant is Ganoderic Acid A.
• Sterols: ergosterol (provitamin D).
• Vitamins: especially from the B group and the vitamin D (D2, D3, D4).
• Minerals: magnesium, zinc, iron, selenium, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, and copper.
• 17 amino acids, many of which are essential.

In traditional Chinese herbology, it is classified within the category of tonic herbs. As a medicinal tonic mushroom, it balances and calms the SHEN (spirit), tones and nourishes the JING (essential energy) and tones the QI (vital energy).

Contraindications

Reishi can lower blood pressure. It should not be taken with anticoagulants, antidepressants, or antipsychotics.
Treatment should be discontinued prior to surgeries. Consult a doctor before combining it with other medications.

Origin and morphological characteristics of Reishi

The scientific name it receives is Ganoderma lucidum, In Catalan it is known as pipa or bolet de pipa. Ganoderma refers to "shiny skin" and lucidum "bright", so these are the distinctive visual traits of reishi. Often used the Ganoderma lucidum to refer to the species Ganoderma lingzhi, with medicinal properties even more potent than G. lucidum.

The common name used when referring to medicinal qualities and with which extracts are marketed is reishi, a word of Japanese origin meaning divine mushroom; in Japanese it is also known as mannentake. In China it is known as Ling zhi, Xhizhi and Zizhi where it is traditionally known as the mushroom of eternal youth.

The geographical distribution of this mushroom moves through temperate and subtropical zones worldwide. It is a saprophytic mushroom that feeds on the wood of deciduous trees such as old oak or ash or on dead stumps. Mushrooms grow at the base of trunks or on stumps. It appears annually in spring and can develop until autumn when it has conditions of humidity and dim light.

The mushroom has an elongated, irregular base or foot, often sinuous, ending with a fan in the shape of a smoking pipe, pan, or fan forming a right angle with the foot part. Its consistency is leathery, similar to cork, which makes reishi not have a prominent culinary use. It has a reddish, orange, or mahogany tone, always shiny and lacquered in appearance on the front and an ocher tone on the back, where it has pores.

The cultivation traditional reishi cultivation is through the work of healthy and fresh logs, which once inoculated begin production a year later. The usual and most widespread production is to cultivate it in bags with a content of supplemented deciduous wood sawdust, which once sterilized, are inoculated with mycelium and produce reishi mushrooms in a matter of a few months.

History of the use of Reishi, "The mushroom of immortality"

The Traditional Chinese Medicine documents the use of Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum or Ling Zhi) from 2697 BC. It appears documented for the first time in the classic Chinese herbal medicine "Shennong Bencaojing" Materia Medica Pharmacopeia, in which Shennong recorded 365 different medicinal plants and highlights the medicinal mushroom Reishi as the most medicinal of all.

In a work originating from the Liao Dynasty, it is believed to represent Shennong, the God of agriculture. In the image, he is seen holding a Reishi mushroom in his hand.

In ancient times, Reishi was not cultivated and was consumed only in its wild state. Due to its rarity, it was of high economic value and was reserved and consumed only by the Emperor and members of the nobility.

In China and Korea, Reishi is called Ling Zhi, which means mushroom of spiritual power, because it leads to serenity and introspection; it is also known by the name mushroom of immortality or mushroom of eternal youth.

Today, in Asia, Reishi is still revered for representing a symbol of prosperity, abundance, health, and long life. It is used by modern Chinese medicine and different medicines of Asia. It is the most well-known and most studied medicinal mushroom by science for its numerous active principles.

Scientific studies

1. Celal, B. (2019). Antioxidant and antimicrobial capacities of Ganoderma lucidum. MedCrave, 7(1), 5-7.
2. Chu TT, Benzie IF, Lam CW, Fok BS, Lee KK, Tomlinson B. Study of potential cardioprotective effects of Ganoderma lucidum (Lingzhi): results of a controlled human intervention trial. Br J Nutr. 2012 Apr;107(7):1017-27.
3. Gao Y, Zhou S, Jiang W, Huang M, Dai X. Effects of ganopoly (a Ganoderma lucidum polysaccharide extract) on the immune functions in advanced-stage cancer patients. Immunol Invest. 2003 Aug;32(3):201-15.
4. Wińska K, Mączka W, Gabryelska K, Grabarczyk M. Mushrooms of the Genus Ganoderma Used to Treat Diabetes and Insulin Resistance. Molecules. 2019;24(22):4075. Published 2019 Nov 11.
5. Preventive and Therapeutic Effect of Ganoderma (Lingzhi) on Liver Injury.Qiu Z, Zhong D, Yang B.Adv Exp Med Biol. 2019;1182:217-242. doi: 10.1007/978-981-32-9421-9_9.
6. Probing Lingzhi or Reishi medicinal mushroom Ganoderma lucidum (higher Basidiomycetes): a bitter mushroom with amazing health benefits.Batra P, Sharma AK, Khajuria R.Int J. Med Mushrooms. 2013;15(2):127-43. doi: 10.1615/intjmedmushr.v15.i2.20.
7. Ganoderma lucidum: A potential source to surmount viral infections through β-glucans immunomodulatory and triterpenoids antiviral properties.Ahmad MF, Ahmad FA, Khan MI, Alsayegh AA, Wahab S, Alam MI, Ahmed F.Int J Biol Macromol. 2021 Sep 30;187:769-779. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2021.06.122. Epub 2021 Jun 29.
8. Ganoderma lucidum inhibits proliferation and induces apoptosis in human prostate cancer cells PC-3.Jiang J, Slivova V, Valachovicova T, Harvey K, Sliva D.Int J Oncol. 2004 May;24(5):1093-9.
9. Suppression of proliferation and oxidative stress by extracts of Ganoderma lucidum in the ovarian cancer cell line OVCAR-3. Tze-Chen Hsieh 1, Joseph M Wu Affiliations expand PMID: 21887458
10. Health-Promoting of Polysaccharides Extracted from Ganoderma lucidum. Seweryn E, Ziała A, Gamian A.Nutrients. 2021 Aug 7;13(8):2725. doi: 10.3390/nu13082725.
11. Identification and Quantification of Triterpenoids in Lingzhi or Reishi Medicinal Mushroom, Ganoderma lucidum (Agaricomycetes), with HPLC-MS/MS Methods. Xin H, Fang L, Xie J, Qi W, Niu Y, Yang F, Cai D, Zhang Y, Wen Z.Int J Med Mushrooms. 2018;20(10):919-934. doi: 10.1615/IntJMedMushrooms.2018027398.
12. The Pharmacological Rationales and Molecular Mechanisms of Ganoderma lucidum Polysaccharides for the Therapeutic Applications of Multiple Diseases.