Medicinal mushroom Ganoderma Lucidum, Red
Reishi, Lingzhi
The lingzhi or reishi mushroom (Traditional Chinese; pinyin:
língzhī; Japanese: reishi; literally: "supernatural mushroom")
encompasses several fungal species of the genus Ganoderma, and most
commonly refers to the closely related species, Ganoderma lucidum
and Ganoderma tsugae. G. lucidum enjoys special veneration in East
Asia, where it has been used as a medicinal mushroom in traditional
Chinese medicine for more than 4,000 years,[1] making it one of the
oldest mushrooms known to have been used medicinally. Because of
lingzhi's presumed health benefits and apparent absence of
side-effects, it has attained a reputation in the East as the
ultimate herbal substance. Lingzhi is listed in the American Herbal
Pharmacopoeia and Therapeutic Compendium.
Taxonomy and naming
Names for the lingzhi fungus have a two thousand year history.
The Chinese term lingzhi was first recorded in the Eastern Han
Dynasty (25-220 CE). Petter Adolf Karsten named the genus Ganoderma
in 1881.[1]
[edit] Botanical names
The lingzhi's botanical names have Greek and Latin roots. The
generic epithet Ganoderma derives from the Greek ganos γανος
"brightness; sheen", hence "shining" and derma δερμα "skin".[2] The
specific epithet lucidum is Latin for "shining" and tsugae for
"hemlock" (from Japanese Tsuga ).
There are multiple species of lingzhi, scientifically known to
be within the Ganoderma lucidum species complex and mycologists are
still researching the differences among species within this
complex.[3]
[edit] Chinese names
Chinese language lingzhi compounds ling "spirit,
spiritual; soul; miraculous; sacred; divine; mysterious;
efficacious; effective" (cf. Lingyan Temple) and zhi 芝
"(traditional) plant of longevity; fungus; mushroom; excrescence".
Fabrizio Pregadio explains, "The term zhi, which has no equivalent
in Western languages, refers to a variety of supermundane
substances often described as plants, fungi, or "excresences"."[4]
Zhi occurs in other Chinese plant names such as zhima
"sesame", and was anciently used a phonetic loan character
for zhi 芷 "Angelica iris". Chinese differentiates Ganoderma species
between chizhi 赤芝 "red mushroom" G. lucidum and zizhi "purple
mushroom" G. japonicum.
Lingzhi 靈芝has several synonyms. Ruicao "auspicious plant" (with
"auspicious; felicitous omen" and the suffix cao "plant;
herb") is the oldest; the (ca. 3rd century BCE) Erya dictionary
defines qiu 苬 (interpreted as a miscopy of jun "mushroom") as
zhi "mushroom" and the commentary of Guo Pu (276-324) says,
"The [zhi] flowers three times in one year. It is a [ruicao]
felicitous plant."[5] Other Chinese names for Ganoderma include
ruizhi "auspicious mushroom", "divine mushroom" (with
shen "spirit; god' supernatural; divine"), xiancao 仙草 "immortality
plant" (with xian "(Daoism) transcendent; immortal; wizard"), and
lingzhicao or zhicao "mushroom plant".
Since both Chinese ling and zhi have multiple meanings, lingzhi
has diverse English translations. Renditions include "herb of
spiritual potency" or "mushroom of immortality",[6] "numinous
mushroom",[7] "divine mushroom",[8] "divine fungus",[9] and "magic
fungus"[10]
[edit] Japanese names
Japanese language reishi is a Sino-Japanese loanword from
lingzhi. This modern Japanese kanji 零 is the shinjitai "new
character form" for the kyūjitai "old character form".
Reishi synonyms divide between Sino-Japanese borrowings and
native Japanese coinages. Sinitic loanwords include literary terms
such as zuisō (from ruicao) "auspicious plant" and sensō
(from xiaocao) "immortality plant". A common native Japanese
name is mannentake 万年茸 "10,000 year mushroom". The Japanese writing
system uses shi or shiba 芝 for "grass; lawn; turf" and take or
kinoko 茸 for "mushroom" (e.g., shiitake). Other Japanese terms for
reishi include kadodetake 門出茸 "departure mushroom", hijiridake
"sage mushroom", and magoshakushi "grandchild
ladle".
[edit] English names
English lingzhi or ling chih (sometimes misspelled "ling chi")
is a Chinese loanword. The Oxford English Dictionary gives Chinese
"líng divine + zhī fungus" as the origin of ling chih or lingzhi,
and defines, "The fungus Ganoderma lucidum, believed in China to
confer longevity and used as a symbol of this on Chinese ceramic
ware."[11] The OED notes the earliest recorded usage of the
Wade-Giles romanization ling chih in 1904,[12] and of the Pinyin
lingzhi in 1980.
[edit] Description
Lingzhi is a polypore mushroom that is soft (when fresh), corky,
and flat, with a conspicuous red-varnished, kidney-shaped cap and,
depending on specimen age, white to dull brown pores underneath.[6]
It lacks gills on its underside and releases its spores through
fine pores, leading to its morphological classification as a
polypore.
[edit] Varieties
Jreishi2.jpg
Ganoderma lucidum generally occurs in two growth forms, one,
found in North America, is sessile and rather large with only a
small or no stalk, while the other is smaller and has a long,
narrow stalk, and is found mainly in the tropics. However, many
growth forms exist that are intermediate to the two types, or even
exhibit very unusual morphologies,[6] raising the possibility that
they are separate species. Environmental conditions also play a
substantial role in the different morphological characteristics
lingzhi can exhibit. For example, elevated carbon dioxide levels
result in stem elongation in lingzhi. Other forms show "antlers',
without a cap and these may be affected by carbon dioxide levels as
well.
[edit] Biochemistry
Ganoderic acid A, a compound isolated from Lingzhi.
Ganoderma lucidum produces a group of triterpenes, called
ganoderic acids, which have a molecular structure similar to
steroid hormones.[13] It also contains other compounds many of
which are typically found in fungal materials including
polysaccharides such as beta-glucan, coumarin,[citation needed]
mannitol, and alkaloids.[13]
[edit] Habitat
Ganoderma lucidum, and its close relative Ganoderma tsugae, grow
in the northern Eastern Hemlock forests. These two species of
bracket fungus have a worldwide distribution in both tropical and
temperate geographical regions, including North and South America,
Africa, Europe, and Asia, growing as a parasite or saprotroph on a
wide variety of trees.[6] Similar species of Ganoderma have been
found growing in the Amazon.[14] In nature, Lingzhi grows at the
base and stumps of deciduous trees, especially maple.[15] Only two
or three out of 10,000 such aged trees will have Lingzhi growth,
and therefore its wild form is generally rare. Today, Lingzhi is
effectively cultivated both indoors under sterile conditions and
outdoors on either logs or woodchip beds.
[edit] History
The word lingzhi was first recorded in a fu 賦 "rhapsody;
prose-poem" by the Han dynasty polymath Zhang Heng (CE 78–139). His
(ca. 100) Xijing fu 西京賦 "Western Metropolis Rhapsody" parallels
lingzhi with shijun 石菌 "rock mushroom": "Raising huge breakers,
lifting waves, That drenched the stone mushrooms on the high bank,
And soaked the magic fungus on vermeil boughs."[16] The commentary
by Xue Zong (d. 237) notes these fungi were eaten as drugs of
immortality.
The (ca. 1st-2nd century CE) Shennong bencao jing "Divine
Farmer's Classic of Pharmaceutics" classifies zhi into six color
categories, each of which is believed to benefit the qi "life
force" in a different part of the body: qingzhi 青芝 "green mushroom"
for liver, chizhi 赤芝 "red mushroom" for heart, huangzhi 黃芝 "yellow
mushroom" for spleen, baizhi 白芝 "white mushroom" for lung, heizhi
"black mushroom" 黑芝 for kidney, and zizhi 紫芝 "purple mushroom" for
essence. Commentators identify this red chizhi (or danzhi 丹芝
"cinnabar mushroom") as the lingzhi.
Chi Zhi (Ganoderma Rubra) is bitter and
balanced. It mainly treats binding in the chest, boosts the heart
qi, supplements the center, sharpens the wits, and [causes people]
not to forget [i.e., improves the memory]. Protracted taking may
make the body light, prevent senility, and prolong life so as to
make one an immortal. Its other name is Dan Zhi (Cinnabar
Ganoderma). It grows in mountains and valleys.[17][18]
The (ca. 320 CE) Baopuzi, written by the Jin Dynasty Daoist
scholar Ge Hong, has the first classical discussion of zhi.[19]
Based upon no-longer extant texts, Ge distinguishes five categories
of zhi, each with 120 varieties: shizhi 石芝 "stone zhi", muzhi 木芝
"wood zhi", caozhi 草芝 "plant zhi", rouzhi 肉芝 "flesh zhi", and
junzhi 菌芝 "mushroom zhi. For example, the "mushroom zhi".
Tiny excresences. These grow deep in the
mountains, at the base of large trees or beside springs. They may
resemble buildings, palanquins and horses, dragon and tigers, human
beings, or flying birds. They may be any of the five colors. They
too number 120 for which there exist illustrations. All are to be
sought and gathered while using Yu's Pace [a Daoist ritual walk],
and they are to be cut with a bone knife. When dried in the shade,
powdered, and taken by the inch-square spoonful, they produce
geniehood. Those of the intermediate class confer several thousands
of years, and those of the lowest type a thousand years of
life.[20]
Pregadio concludes, "While there may be no better term than
"mushrooms" or "excresences" to refer to them, and even though Ge
Hong states that they "are not different from natural mushrooms
(ziran zhi 自然芝) (Baopuzi 16.287)", the zhi pertain to an
intermediate dimension between mundane and transcendent
reality."[21]
The (1596) Bencao Gangmu ("Compendium of Materia Medica") has a
zhi 芝 category that includes six types of zhi (calling the green,
red, yellow, white, black, and purple ones from the Shennong bencao
jing the liuzhi 六芝 "six mushrooms") and sixteen other fungi,
mushrooms, and lichens (e.g., mu'er 木耳 "wood ear" " Cloud ear
fungus; Auricularia auricula-judae"). The author Li Shizhen
classified these six differently colored zhi as xiancao 仙草
"immortality herbs", and described the effects of chizhi "red
mushroom":
It positively affects the life-energy, or Qi
of the heart, repairing the chest area and benefiting those with a
knotted and tight chest. Taken over a long period of time, agility
of the body will not cease, and the years are lengthened to those
of the Immortal Fairies.[22][23]
Stuart and Smith's classic study of Chinese herbology describes
the zhi.
芝 (Chih) is defined in the classics as the
plant of immortality, and it is therefore always considered to be a
felicitous one. It is said to absorb the earthy vapors and to leave
a heavenly atmosphere. For this reason it is called 靈芝 (Ling-chih.)
It is large and of a branched form, and probably represents
Clavaria or Sparassis. Its form is likened to that of
coral.[24]
The Bencao Gangmu does not list lingzhi as a variety of zhi, but
as an alternate name for the shi'er 石耳 "stone ear" "Umbilicaria
esculenta" lichen. According to Stuart and Smith,
[The 石耳 Shih-erh is] edible, and has all of
the good qualities of the 芝 (Chih), being also used in the
treatment of gravel, and being said to benefit virility. It is
specially used in hemorrhage from the bowels and prolapse of the
rectum. While the name of this would indicate that it was one of
the Auriculariales, the fact that the name 靈芝 (Ling-chih) is also
given to it might place it among the Clavariaceae.[25]
In Chinese art, the lingzhi symbolizes good health and long
life, as depicted in the imperial Forbidden City and Summer Palace.
It was a talisman for good luck in the traditional culture of
China, and the goddess of healing Guanyin is sometimes depicted
holding a lingzhi mushroom.[26]
[edit] Lingzhi research and therapeutic usage
Lingzhi may possess anti-tumor, immunomodulatory and
immunotherapeutic activities, supported by studies on
polysaccharides, terpenes, and other bioactive compounds isolated
from fruiting bodies and mycelia of this fungus (reviewed by R. R.
Paterson[13] and Lindequist et al.[27]). It has also been found to
inhibit platelet aggregation, and to lower blood pressure (via
inhibition of angiotensin-converting enzyme[28]), cholesterol, and
blood sugar.[29]
Laboratory studies have shown anti-neoplastic effects of fungal
extracts or isolated compounds against some types of cancer. In an
animal model, Ganoderma has been reported to prevent cancer
metastasis,[30] with potency comparable to Lentinan from Shiitake
mushrooms.[31]
The mechanisms by which G. lucidum may affect cancer are unknown
and they may target different stages of cancer development:
inhibition of angiogenesis (formation of new, tumor-induced blood
vessels, created to supply nutrients to the tumor) mediated by
cytokines, cytoxicity, inhibiting migration of the cancer cells and
metastasis, and inducing and enhancing apoptosis of tumor
cells.[13] Nevertheless, G. lucidum extracts are already used in
commercial pharmaceuticals such as MC-S for suppressing cancer cell
proliferation and migration.
Additional studies indicate that ganoderic acid can help to
strengthen the liver against liver injury by viruses and other
toxic agents in mice, suggesting a potential benefit of this
compound in the prevention of liver diseases in humans,[32] and
Ganoderma-derived sterols inhibit lanosterol 14α-demethylase
activity in the biosynthesis of cholesterol .[33] Ganoderma
compounds inhibit 5-alpha reductase activity in the biosynthesis of
dihydrotestosterone.[28]
Besides effects on mammalian physiology, Ganoderma is reported
to have anti-bacterial and anti-viral activities.[34][35] Ganoderma
is reported to exhibit direct anti-viral with the following
viruses; HSV-1, HSV-2, influenza virus, vesicular stomatitis.
Ganoderma mushrooms are reported to exhibit direct anti-microbial
properties with the following organisms; Aspergillus niger,
Bacillus cereus, Candida albicans, and Escherichia coli.
[edit] Preparation
Due to its bitter taste, Lingzhi is traditionally prepared as a
hot water extract.[2] Thinly sliced or pulverized lingzhi (either
fresh or dried) is added to a pot of boiling water, the water is
then brought to a simmer, and the pot is covered; the lingzhi is
then simmered for two hours.[citation needed] The resulting liquid
is fairly bitter in taste, with the more active red lingzhi more
bitter than the black. The process is sometimes repeated.
Alternatively, it can be used as an ingredient in a formula
decoction or used to make an extract (in liquid, capsule, or powder
form). The more active red forms of lingzhi are far too bitter to
be consumed in a soup.
References
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3. ^ R. S. Hseu, H. H. Wang, H. F. Wang and J. M.
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12. ^ Stephen Wootton Bushell (1904), Chinese Art, Victoria
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22. ^ 本草綱目/菜之三. 胸中結, 益心氣, 補中, 增智慧, 不忘。久食, 輕身不老, 延年神仙。
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(July 2005). "Effect of 26-oxygenosterols from Ganoderma lucidum
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