Lions Mane Mushroom

Intro

Lion’s mane mushroom a.k.a Hericium erinaceus is a unique mushroom that grows across North America, Europe, and Asia. This medicinal mushroom supports overall cognitive function, mood, cardiovascular health, immune system, and metabolic health.

Can Lion’s mane improve your brain’s neural connections?

  • Improved neurogenesis: Lion’s mane increases levels of NGF (Nerve Growth Factor) which is an important factor for the growth and maintenance of neurons or neurogenesis.

How does Lion’s mane affect metabolism?

  • Faster metabolism: Lion's Mane appears to be a PPARα agonist, which contributes to improved metabolism.

Research

Nature’s anti-depressant

  • Anti-depressant effects: Anxiety and Depressive symptoms showed a significant reduction in humans over the course of 4 weeks. There was a significant difference in measurements of concentration and irritability.

Our first smart mushroom

  • Memory enhancement: Behavioral studies have revealed that Lion’s mane mushroom increases exploratory behavior and enhances recognition memory in mice.
  • Dementia treatment: A human study using 3g of 98% lion's mane powder showed significant improvements in dementia in people suffering from general cognitive decline.
  • Improved cognitive function: The control group that consumed lion’s mane mushroom showed increased cognitive function compared to the placebo group as measured by the Revised Hasegawa Dementia Scale (HDS-R).
  • Anti-carcinogenic and anti-bacterial properties: Several studies have demonstrated the anti-carcinogenic and anti-bacterial properties of Hericium erinaceus (lion’s mane) mushroom.

"Mushrooms have many helpful nutrients, including beta glucans for immune enhancement, ergothioneines for antioxidative potentiation, nerve growth stimulators for helping brain function, and antimicrobial compounds for limiting viruses." -Paul Stamets

References

  1. Mori K, Obara Y, Hirota M, Azumi Y, Kinugasa S, Inatomi S, Nakahata N. Nerve growth factor-inducing activity of Hericium erinaceus in 1321N1 human astrocytoma cells. Biol Pharm Bull. 2008 Sep;31(9):1727-32. doi: 10.1248/bpb.31.1727. PMID: 18758067.
  2. Hiwatashi K, Kosaka Y, Suzuki N, Hata K, Mukaiyama T, Sakamoto K, Shirakawa H, Komai M. Yamabushitake mushroom (Hericium erinaceus) improved lipid metabolism in mice fed a high-fat diet. Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 2010;74(7):1447-51. doi: 10.1271/bbb.100130. Epub 2010 Jul 7. PMID: 20622452.
  3. Nagano M, Shimizu K, Kondo R, Hayashi C, Sato D, Kitagawa K, Ohnuki K. Reduction of depression and anxiety by 4 weeks Hericium erinaceus intake. Biomed Res. 2010 Aug;31(4):231-7. doi: 10.2220/biomedres.31.231. PMID: 20834180.
  4. Mori K, Inatomi S, Ouchi K, Azumi Y, Tuchida T. Improving effects of the mushroom Yamabushitake (Hericium erinaceus) on mild cognitive impairment: a double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial. Phytother Res. 2009 Mar;23(3):367-72. doi: 10.1002/ptr.2634. PMID: 18844328.
  5. Zhang, J.; An, S.; Hu, W.; Teng, M.; Wang, X.; Qu, Y.; Liu, Y.; Yuan, Y.; Wang, D. The Neuroprotective Properties of Hericium erinaceusin Glutamate-Damaged Differentiated PC12 Cells and an Alzheimer’s Disease Mouse Model.  J. Mol. Sci. 2016, 17, 1810. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms17111810
  6. Mori, Koichiro, et al. “Improving effects of the mushroom Yamabushitake (Hericium erinaceus) on mild cognitive impairment: a double‐blind placebo‐controlled clinical trial.” Phytotherapy Research: An International Journal Devoted to Pharmacological and Toxicological Evaluation of Natural Product Derivatives3 (2009): 367-372
  7. Brandalise, Federico, et al. “Dietary supplementation of Hericium erinaceus increases mossy fiber-CA3 hippocampal neurotransmission and recognition memory in wild-type mice.” Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine2017 (2017).
  8. Friedman, Mendel. “Chemistry, nutrition, and health-promoting properties of Hericium erinaceus (lion’s mane) mushroom fruiting bodies and mycelia and their bioactive compounds.” Journal of agricultural and food chemistry32 (2015): 7108-7123.