Chemistry, Nutrition, and Health-Promoting Properties of Hericium erinaceus (Lion’s Mane) Mushroom Fruiting Bodies and Mycelia and Their Bioactive Compounds

Summary & key facts

This paper is a wide overview of research on the Lion’s Mane mushroom (Hericium erinaceus). The authors collected studies that describe the mushroom’s nutrients and about 70 possible active compounds. Many lab, animal, and some human studies report anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and immune-stimulating actions. Those actions are linked in the papers to possible benefits like protecting the brain and helping with anxiety, thinking, and mood. The authors say more and better human studies are needed before we can be confident about these effects for people.

Key facts:

• The paper is a literature review that gathers chemistry, nutritional, and health-related studies about the Lion’s Mane mushroom.
• Researchers have identified about 70 different bioactive secondary compounds in the mushroom, including groups called erinacines and hericenones.
• The mushroom contains polysaccharides and many other chemical families such as resorcinols, steroids, and various terpenes and aroma compounds.
• Lab studies, animal studies, and some early human studies report that Lion’s Mane shows anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and immune-stimulating effects.
• Those properties are suggested to underlie many reported benefits, including antibiotic, antidiabetic, antifatigue, blood-pressure-lowering, cholesterol-lowering, and protective effects for the heart, liver, kidneys, and brain.
• Several studies report improvements in anxiety, thinking or cognitive function, and depression, but the authors stress that the evidence is mixed and more human trials are needed.

Abstract

The culinary and medicinal mushroom Hericium erinaceus is widely consumed in Asian countries, but apparently not in the United States, for its nutritional and health benefits. To stimulate broader interest in the reported beneficial properties, this overview surveys and consolidates the widely scattered literature on the chemistry (isolation and structural characterization) of polysaccharides and secondary metabolites such as erinacines, hericerins, hericenones, resorcinols, steroids, mono- and diterpenes, and volatile aroma compounds, nutritional composition, food and industrial uses, and exceptional nutritional and health-promoting aspects of H. erinaceus. The reported health-promoting properties of the mushroom fruit bodies, mycelia, and bioactive pure compounds include antibiotic, anticarcinogenic, antidiabetic, antifatigue, antihypertensive, antihyperlipodemic, antisenescence, cardioprotective, hepatoprotective, nephroprotective, and neuroprotective properties and improvement of anxiety, cognitive function, and depression. The described anti-inflammatory, antioxidative, and immunostimulating properties in cells, animals, and humans seem to be responsible for the multiple health-promoting properties. A wide range of research advances and techniques are described and evaluated. The collated information and suggestion for further research might facilitate and guide further studies to optimize the use of the whole mushrooms and about 70 characterized actual and potential bioactive secondary metabolites to help prevent or treat human chronic, cognitive, and neurological diseases.

Topics

Fungal Biology and Applications Medicinal Plants and Bioactive Compounds Polysaccharides and Plant Cell Walls

Categories

Health Sciences Medicine Pharmacology

Tags

Agaricales Biochemistry Biology Biotechnology Botany Chemistry Erinaceus Food science Gene Hedgehog Hericium erinaceus Medicine Mushroom Mycelium Organic chemistry Raw material Taxonomy (biology) Traditional medicine

Conditions & symptoms

Anxiety Depression Anxiety or worry Difficulty focusing Lack of energy or motivation Sadness or low mood