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Lingzhi is the Chinese name (or Japanese: 'Reishi') for one form of the mushroom Ganoderma Lucidum. It is rarely found in nature, and has been used as a herbal medicine for more than 4,000 years in traditional Chinese medicine, making it the oldest mushroom known to have been used in medicine.

'Lingzhi', in Chinese, means "herb of spiritual potency", and because of its multiple health benefits and absence of side-effects, it has attained an unparalleled reputation in the East as the ultimate herbal substance. It is said that for thousands of years, lingzhi was the most sought-after herb by mountain sages and emperors and empresses of China and Japan. Lingzhi has now been added to the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia and Therapeutic Compendium.

Contents 1 Morphology and constituents 2 Source 3 Alleged medicinal uses 4 Side Effects 5 Historical Chinese records 6 Modern scientific studies 7 External Links

Morphology and constituents

Lingzhi is a polypore mushroom that is soft (when fresh), corky, and flat, with a red-varnished cap and white to dull brown pores underneath. Unlike other mushrooms, polypores have no gills on their underside, and releases their spores through pores; hence, the term, 'polypore'.

Ganoderma Lucidum is the only known source of a group of triterpenes, known as ganoderic acids, which have a molecular structure similar to steroid hormones. It has the most active polysaccharides (long chains of sugars) among medicinal plant sources, and also contains:

• ergosterols
• coumarin
• mannitol
• lactones
• alkaloids
• complete proteins
• unsaturated fatty acids
• vitamins and minerals.

Unlike most mushrooms which contain about 90% water content, Lingzhi only has 75%.

Whether in its dry or wet form it is inedible, and must therefore be made into a tea or extract.

Source

In nature, Lingzhi grows at the base and stumps of deciduous trees, especially maple (National Audubon Society; Field guide to Mushrooms,1993). Only two or three out of 10,000 such aged trees will have Lingzhi growth, and therefore its wild form is generally rare.

Lingzhi is nowadays effectively cultivated and sold in many Asian markets. Western health shops often stock extracts of Ganoderma Lucidum, labeled as 'lingzhi'; however, they sometimes belong to another type of the same family of mushroom, which do not have the full range of medicinal effects.

Alleged medicinal uses

Because of the presence of polysaccharides lingzhi is anti-tumor, immunomodulating and immunotherapeutic. It is also adaptogenic, anti-allergenic and anti-hypertensive due to the presence of triterpenes. Apart from these properties, uncited sources have found lingzhi to be anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, anti-parasitic, anti-fungal, anti-diabetic, anti-hypotensive, and hepatoprotective. It has also been found to inhibit platelet aggregations, and to lower blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar.

Because of these properties, lingzhi has been used as an immune booster, blood pressure stabilizer, antioxidant, analgesic, a kidney and nerve tonic, as well as a sexual potentiator. It is also used in bronchitis prevention and in cardiovascular treatment, and in the treatment of high triglycerides, high blood pressure, hepatitis, allergies, chemotherapy support, HIV support, and even for fatigue and altitude sickness.

Uncited sources consider lingzhi extract to be highly effective in improving and, in most cases, curing Hepatitis A, B and C within a period of 3 months.

Although the experiences in fighting cancer are more inconsistent, the extract has been shown to be effective in regressing tumors. The results depend on the type of cancer and the severity of the condition. It is recommended that it be used in combination with other prescribed medical treatments. The Ganoderma extract can be highly effective in substantially reducing or eliminating the side-effects of radio- and chemotherapies if it is taken before, during and after the treatments. It can reduce side-effects like hair loss, nausea, vomiting, stomatitis, sore throat, loss of appetite and insomnia.

Side Effects

People starting to take linghzi may feel dizzy, itchy, thirsty, or even pelvic-fatigue, resulting from increased defaecation and urination. However, these reactions are normal and demonstrate the effectiveness of lingzhi in the body, as toxins are dissolved, mobilized, and excreted.

As the effects of lingzhi are not experienced to the same degree in every person, users are advised to consult a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner before relying on lingzhi to treat any major health problem.

This list of side effects contradicts the statements below that linghzi has no side-effects.

Historical Chinese records

The "Seng Nong's Herbal Classic", a 2000-year old medicinal Chinese book, considered today as the oldest book on oriental herbal medicine classifies 365 species of roots, grass, woods, furs, animals and stones into three categories of herbal medicine:

• The first category, called "superior", includes herbs effective for multiple diseases and are mostly responsible for maintaining and restoring the body balance. They have no unfavorable side-effects.
• The second category comprises tonics and boosters, for which their consumption must not be prolonged.
• The third category must be taken, usually in small doses, and for the treatment of specific ailments only.

Lingzhi ranked number one of the superior medicines, and was therefore the most exalted medicine in ancient times.

Modern scientific studies

Numerous studies of lingzhi, mainly in China, Korea, Japan and the United States, has shown its effectiveness in the treatment of a very wide range of diseases and symptoms. But the studies have not given any explanation of how it does so, because none of its presumed and known active components taken alone have produced results as powerful the intake of lingzhi itself. Its effectiveness applies to diverse areas, and thus it is well-nigh difficult to classify each of them and to conduct research separately in each area. It is perhaps more comprehensible at this time, to explain lingzhi's "miraculous powers" from the traditional Chinese medicine point of view.

In the West, scientists have traditionally separated and classified each disease meticulously, and have specialized in each of them to such a degree that it seems as if each disease is autonomous and standing alone. Oriental medicine, resulting from knowledge accumulated through 4,000 years of human observation, asserts that health can be maintained by sustaining the right balance within the body and that diseases can be cured by restoring this balance through nutrition, including medicinal herbs, exercise and mental peace. Traditional oriental wisdom believes that a disease is but the mere tip of an iceberg, the result of the underlying imbalance of the body which must be restored.

Observations have shown that lingzhi has relatively little side-effects and can be consumed in high doses, in parallel with other medications. Its main properties are the cleansing of blood, enhancement of the immune system and the lessening of nervous tension. These properties are conducive to normalizing and balancing the body, and as a result, lingzhi is able to cure a multitude of diseases from within.

Lingzhi has been found to strengthen the respiratory system and to have a healing effect on the lungs, and is particularly beneficial for individuals with asthma, cough and other respiratory complaints. At least one population study conducted in the 1970s confirms this claim. When more the 2,000 Chinese with chronic bronchitis took lingzhi syrup, 60 to 90% felt better within two weeks and reported an improved appetite, according to an article entitled, Medicinal Mushrooms, written by Christopher Hobbs, and published in Herbs for Health, Jan/Feb 97.

In Japan, after daily injections in mice with cancer it was reported that tumors in 50% of the animals had completely regressed within 10 days. (Ikekawa et al,1968;Japanese Journal of Cancer Reasearch;59: 155-157)

External Links

• http://www.kyotan.com/ Site containing info on Ganoderma
• http://www.kyotan.com/lectures/lectures.html Links to lectures on Ganoderma
• http://www.japan-reishi.org/en/resources_pub.html Japanese Reishi Association

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