Reduction of depression and anxiety by 4 weeks Hericium erinaceus intake

Summary & key facts

Researchers gave 30 women either cookies that contained the edible mushroom Hericium erinaceus or plain cookies for four weeks. They measured menopause symptoms, depression, sleep quality, and vague physical complaints. After the month, depression scores and some vague complaint scores were lower in the mushroom group, which suggests the mushroom might help reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety, but the study was small, only included women, and lasted just four weeks, so the results are tentative.

Key facts:

• Thirty women took part. They were randomly put into two groups and ate either mushroom cookies or placebo cookies for four weeks.
• The researchers used standard questionnaires to measure menopause issues, depression, sleep quality, and vague physical complaints before and after the four weeks.
• Scores on the depression questionnaire were lower after taking the mushroom, in a way the researchers judged unlikely to be due to chance.
• Overall scores on the vague complaints checklist were also lower after the mushroom intake.
• Two specific complaint items, described as "insentive" and "palpitatio" in the checklist, were clearly lower in the mushroom group than in the placebo group.
• Other items such as trouble concentrating, feeling irritated, and feeling anxious tended to be lower with the mushroom but did not show clear differences from placebo.
• The authors noted these results could mean the mushroom reduces depression and anxiety, and they suggested the effect might not come from the mushroom's known action of increasing nerve growth factor. This idea needs more study.
• Because the study was small, short, and included only women, the findings should be seen as preliminary and not as proof that the mushroom works for everyone.

Abstract

Hericium erinaceus, a well known edible mushroom, has numerous biological activities. Especially hericenones and erinacines isolated from its fruiting body stimulate nerve growth factor (NGF) synthesis, which expects H. erinaceus to have some effects on brain functions and autonomic nervous system. Herein, we investigated the clinical effects of H. erinaceus on menopause, depression, sleep quality and indefinite complaints, using the Kupperman Menopausal Index (KMI), the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and the Indefinite Complaints Index (ICI). Thirty females were randomly assigned to either the H. erinaceus (HE) group or the placebo group and took HE cookies or placebo cookies for 4 weeks. Each of the CES-D and the ICI score after the HE intake was significantly lower than that before. In two terms of the ICI, "insentive" and "palpitatio", each of the mean score of the HE group was significantly lower than the placebo group. "Concentration", "irritating" and "anxious" tended to be lower than the placebo group. Our results show that HE intake has the possibility to reduce depression and anxiety and these results suggest a different mechanism from NGF-enhancing action of H. erinaceus.

Topics

Fungal Biology and Applications Medicinal Plants and Bioactive Compounds Pharmacological Effects of Natural Compounds

Categories

Health Sciences Medicine Pharmacology

Tags

Alternative medicine Anxiety Depression (economics) Economics Endocrinology Hericium erinaceus Insomnia Internal medicine Macroeconomics Medicine Pathology Pharmacology Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index Placebo Psychiatry Psychology Sleep quality Traditional medicine

Substances

Other

Conditions & symptoms

Anxiety Depression Sleep disorder Anxiety or worry Difficulty focusing Poor sleep Sadness or low mood