Recent Research on Lion's Mane Mushrooms

By Dr. Chris Montoya

Lion’s Mane mushrooms are beautiful, shaggy looking, white fungi that have both culinary and medicinal uses. They can be eaten raw, cooked, dried, or even steeped to make a tea. At Eversio, we like to consume organic Lion’s Mane that has been dried and hot water extracted, as a daily supplement for optimal well-being. 

Our Lion’s Mane mushrooms are not grown on grain in a lab – they grow outside, on logs, like Mother Nature intended.  The fresh air our mushrooms breathe and the organic way they grow takes longer and costs more than popular mycelium on grain methods – but, it’s worth the time and effort to reap the benefits of the high concentrations of bioactive compounds that are achieved when you grow this way. 

Eversio Wellness FOCUS capsules, BALANCE blend and AWAKEN blend are made with an 8:1 Lion’s Mane extract, meaning that 1g of our product is made from 8g of dried fruiting bodies that have been hot water extracted and spray dried to produce a high potency powdered form that can be used as a super concentrated supplement.

We love Lion’s Mane for its ability to benefit the brain, heart and gut.  Although there are hundreds, let’s take a peek at two recent clinical research studies on Lion’s Mane mushrooms:

1. Noha et al. (2020) Online Survey for Patient Outcomes on Hericium Erinaceous Mushroom, Pharmacognosy Journal. May/Jun2020, Vol. 12 Issue 3, p519-525. 7p. 

In this study, extracts and compounds from Hericium erinaceus (Lion’s Mane) were studied in questionnaires that looked at benefits and outcomes. Outcomes were highest with participants who used H. Erinaceous in a dose of 3g twice/day (for a total of 6g daily) to improve memory and cognitive properties.

2. Kushairi, Naufalet al. 2020, Trends in Food Science & Technology October 2020 104:153-162 Elsevier Ltd Affiliations: Mushroom Research Centre, Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Department of Pharmaceutical Life Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, School of Science, RMIT University, Bundoora, Victoria, 3083, Australia 

This research looked at outcomes with Hericium erinaceus (Lion’s Mane) treating Alzheimer's disease.  (AD) is a significant cause of dementia demonstrated by severe and progressive cognitive impairment. While the deposition of amyloid beta (Aβ) plaques and the formation of neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) are known to be the main markers of AD, accumulating evidence has demonstrated neuroinflammation as the driving force. Studies utilizing nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) in AD patients have produced mixed results, in which safety and adverse outcomes remain the major issues. However, targeting neuroinflammation in the management of AD is relevant, especially when considering the use of natural products with potent anti-inflammatory activities and low toxicity. Natural products, like mushroom extracts, have been demonstrated to be effective and beneficial in both in vitro and in vivo studies. 

The research here showed that extracts and compounds from medicinal mushrooms including Hericium erinaceus (Lion’s Mane), Antrodia camphorata, Ganoderma spp. (Reishi), Cordyceps spp. (Cordyceps) and Armillaria mellea demonstrated significant anti-neuroinflammatory activities by suppressing the release of neuroinflammatory mediators via the involvement of toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)/nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) pathway. Concerning the effectiveness, safety, and long traditional medicine history, the consensus is that medicinal mushrooms need to be explored as an alternative for AD therapy.

Contributed by Dr. Chris Montoya, Ph.D. (Brain and Behavior) Psychology, University of Calgary, Post-Doctoral Placement, Department of Experimental Psychology: Stem Cell Research, Downing College University of Cambridge, England