Improvement of cognitive functions by oral intake of <i>Hericium</i><i> erinaceus </i>

Summary & key facts

Researchers ran a carefully controlled study where people took either a Hericium erinaceus (lion's mane) supplement or a placebo for 12 weeks. They tested thinking and memory with three standard tests. One test — the Mini Mental State Examination — showed that people taking the mushroom did better and did not get worse over the study. The other two tests did not show clear benefits. The authors say the mushroom seems safe so far and might help protect against dementia, but they describe this as preliminary and offer possible chemical reasons rather than a proven cause.

Key facts:

• The study gave people either a supplement made from the fruiting body of Hericium erinaceus (lion's mane) or a placebo for 12 weeks in a carefully controlled, blinded setup.
• Researchers used three standard cognitive tests: the Mini Mental State Examination, a visual memory test, and a verbal paired-associate learning test.
• Only the Mini Mental State Examination showed a statistically significant improvement with the mushroom compared with placebo; the other two tests did not show clear improvement.
• The authors say oral intake of the mushroom appeared safe during the study, but they stop short of claiming it is a proven treatment.
• The researchers suggest that several chemicals in the mushroom, including compounds called hericenones, might affect brain networks, but this is a hypothesis and not proven in this study.

Abstract

Hericium erinaceus has been recognized as medical mushroom since ancient time, but its scientific evidence for human health has been still uncertain. In this study, we tested a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled parallel-group comparative study to evaluate the improvement of the cognitive functions by taking supplements containing fruiting body of H. erinaceus for 12 weeks. We performed three kinds of tests: Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), Benton visual retention test, and Standard verbal paired-associate learning test (S-PA). MMSE alone showed that oral intake of H. erinaceus significantly improved cognitive functions and prevented from the deterioration. We speculate that various chemical compounds, including hericenones, in the mushroom have multiple effects to the brain neural networks and improve cognitive functions. Oral intake of H.erinaceus is safe and convenient method for dementia prevention so far.

Topics

Fungal Biology and Applications Medicinal Plants and Bioactive Compounds Medicinal Plants and Neuroprotection

Categories

Health Sciences Medicine Pharmacology

Tags

Alternative medicine Audiology Biochemistry Chemistry Cognition Dementia Disease Erinaceus Gene Hedgehog Hericium erinaceus Internal medicine Medicine Neuroscience Pathology Placebo Psychology

Substances

Other

Conditions & symptoms

Difficulty focusing