Used as a decoction, extract, tincture, food additive and supplement.

This is the most widely used variety of the most famous Chinese medicine, Lingzhi, Ganoderma lucidum. The black or violet varnish polypore Ganoderma lucidum, var sinense, also called Ganoderma sinense, or violet Lingzhi (Zhao, Xu, and Zhang) is very closely related, but this is Red Ganoderma. Most research on the cultivation, pharmacology, and clinical use of Lingzhi has focused on Red (Ganoderma lucidum) and Violet (Ganoderma lucidum, var sinense) Lingzhi, which are considered two varieties of the same mushroom.

Reishi is a traditional tonic used to nourish, tonify, and supplement the whole body as it removes toxins and disperses accumulation. It calms and nourishes the nervous system, strengthens the lungs, protects and stimulates the liver and helps the body adapt to stress.

The reishi mushroom is classified botanically as a polypore, a group of hard, woody, bracket-like mushrooms that decompose wood. Because of this hard and woody nature, reishi is not eaten, but cut into pieces and made into a thick, boiled tea, a decoction.

This traditional water decoction involves boiling reishi at low temperatures for 2-6 hours. The water soluble compounds are left in the decoction and the mushroom pieces are discarded. A water decoction will contain most of the polysaccharides and some, but not all of the triterpenes.

An alcoholic tincture, that is, an alcohol decoction, or, more properly, an aged alcohol soak, will contain both the water-soluble and most of the water insoluble elements.

Considered among the most powerful natural healing herbs in Asia, Red Reishi was very rare and expensive to obtain until recently. Reishi is rich in active organic compounds such as polysaccharides, amino acids, proteins, triterpenes, ascorbic acid, sterols, lipids, alkaloids, a glucose, a courmarine glycoside, volatile oil, riboflavin and more. These compounds are being studied for their positive effects on the immune system, including anti-tumor activity.

Asian cultures have also used Reishi, rendered in jade, as a talisman worn around the neck. Sometimes, whole dried Reishi are placed in the home to ward off evil.

William B. Stavinoha & Neera Satsangi
University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio:

http://www.kyotan.com/lectures/lectures/Lecture4.html:

Prospective and retrospectively collected data on men and women suggest that use of non steroidal antiinflammatory drugs is associated with reduced risk of Alzheimers disease. This research heightens the importance of the ancient reports where Ganoderma lucidum was praised for its effect of increasing memory and preventing forgetfulness in old age reported in Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing vol. 1 as early as 456-536 AD.

Research on mice using orally or topically administered Ganoderma lucidum provides evidence that Ganoderma lucidum has anti-inflammatory activity. This pharmacological activity may provide the basis for its activity on memory in old age, although we do not know as yet that Ganoderma lucidum can enter the brain and exert antiinflammatory activity.

In clinical studies Chang (1994) at Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center reported that applications of Ganoderma should be studied and considered for (1) chemoprophylaxis of cancer in individuals at high risk for developing cancer (2) adjuvent use in the prevention of metastasis or recurrence of cancer (3) palliation of cancer related cachexia and pain and (4) adjunctive use with concurrent chemotherapy to reduce side-effects, maintain leukocyte counts and allow a more optimal dosing of chemo or radio therapeutics.

In a very interesting report Chang (1993) addressed the question of proper dose of Ganoderma for therapy. Since studies of human dosage were traditional and empiric a dose range was calculated using this data and pharmacokinetic principals. The calculations suggested that a (1) Ganoderma dried fruit body dose of 0.5 to 1 g per day for health maintenance (2) 2 to 5 g per day if there is chronic fatigue, stress, auto immune, or other chronic health problems (3) 5 to 10 g per day for serious illness.

Of great interest has been the recent reports from the United States indicating a possible central role for inflammation in the development of such diverse diseases as Alzheimers Disease and Cardiovascular disease. This research has the possibility of linking some of the historical uses of Ganoderma in promoting longevity with contemporary Western scientific theory. The provocative connections are: (1) Ganoderma was used to prevent memory loss in old age (2) Ganoderma is anti-inflammatory, (3) inflammation is involved in the development of Alzheimers disease (4) Alzheimers disease appears to be ameliorated by chronic antiinflammatory use.