Exploring the Science Behind Lion’s Mane Mushroom
In recent years, there has been a boom in the awareness and sales of functional mushrooms—mushrooms that supposedly contain vast health benefits—with lion’s mane mushroom leading the revenue stream. However, this has coincided with scepticism over the claims made about them. So, let’s look at the scientific research and answer the question: is lion’s mane mushroom good for you?
What is lion’s mane?
Hericium erinaceous is an edible mushroom that grows on the trunks of dead hardwood trees across North America, Asia, and Europe. It has been used for centuries, being a staple of traditional Chinese medicine and praised by the Greek physician Hippocrates for its health benefits in 450 BCE.
It is commonly known as lion’s mane because of its long spines and is sold in many forms, including fresh, powdered, and tablet.
Functional mushrooms and marketing
Common claims about the health benefits of lion’s mane mushroom are as follows:
- Regulates blood sugar;
- Reduces high blood pressure;
- Promotes healthy energy and combats fatigue;
- Helps to prevent excess blood lipid accumulation;
- Protects heart health;
- Slows biological aging;
- Protects liver and kidney heath.
However, there has been much scepticism and criticism of these claims from scientists. This is because these claims emerge primarily from tests on animals and cell cultures. Though these are important starting points for research, it is very hard to extrapolate their application and value for humans.
Thankfully, researchers are beginning to conduct studies on the effects of lion’s mane on humans.
Is lion’s mane mushroom good for you?
Let’s answer this question by looking at some studies that have been conducted on humans to examine the health benefits of lion’s mane mushroom.
Lion’s mane and the human brain
An article in Nutrients tested the effects of consuming lion’s mane extracts on cognitive performance and happiness. They measured these with psychological tests and questionnaires, and by monitoring vital signs like heart rate. Importantly, they looked at the short-term effects (within 2 hours of consumption).
They found it had a delayed response, only showing effects between 60 and 120 minutes after consumption. Overall, it positively influenced the participants’ ratings of their happiness in the questionnaires and their sense of ‘getting the most out of everything’. Moreover, it improved reaction time, complex attention, and reaction time and lowered heart rate
The key findings here are twofold. First, that lion’s mane extract has benefits when consumed as a one-off supplement, meaning it may not require continuous dosages to be beneficial (although the authors encourage consuming it for longer durations). Second, that the benefits were measured objectively, via reaction time and heart rate, and subjectively, through the participants’ feelings.
Fortifying pasta with lion’s mane
An article in Antioxidants investigates fortifying (adding vitamins/minerals to common foods to increase its health benefits) pasta with lion’s mane mushroom.
The authors added relatively small amounts of dried mushroom powder to durum wheat semolina pasta. Then, they studied the pasta’s contents of bioactive compounds and its pro-health properties when subjected to digestion.
In conclusion, the lion’s mane mushroom powder increased the vanillin content, which has neuroprotective, anticancer, and antioxidant properties.
The health benefits of lion’s mane mushroom can be transferred to flour-based products, like breads, cakes, biscuits, and pasta, via fortification. This enables people to receive their health benefits without adjusting their diets much.
Scepticism about lion’s mane mushroom
The question ‘is lion’s mane mushroom good for you?’ seems like it could be answered with a resounding ‘yes’ after looking at the two previous studies. However, not all research has been so promising.
An article in Nutrients investigates the effects of lion’s mane supplementation in young adults. The authors looked at both the short-term (60 minutes after consumption) and long-term (28 days of daily consumption) effects on cognition and mood in healthy young adults.
The authors split volunteers into two groups, one placebo and the other taking three lion’s mane supplements a day. Then eight tests focused on attention, memory, and reaction time with questionnaires provided for mood and psychological states.
Disappointing findings for lion’s mane in young people
In short, the authors found no significant differences between the treatments during either the short- or long-term assessments.
They found a slight speed improvement on one test after 60 minutes, but no change in the other speed tests. Also, after 28 days, all three stress tests showed a decrease in stress after 28 days but only one was significantly different. However, they found slightly lower scores on word recall after 60 minutes.
These results contrast with the bigger marketing claims made being made for lion’s mane mushroom. Whilst this study doesn’t diminish the findings in other studies, especially those relating to neurodegenerative disease, it shows that you should be mindful of unverified claims being presented as facts in marketing.
Moreover, it shows that we have a lot to learn about this mushroom, such as who would benefit most from it and how to consume it to receive its potential benefits.
The answer remains uncertain
The answer remains uncertain for now: lion’s mane may have health benefits.
The best thing to do if you have concerns about your health is to speak to a medical professional.
Medicinal drugs are based on specific purified compounds, tested in precise amounts for safety and efficacy. Foodstuffs like mushrooms, however, contain hundreds of different chemicals at varying levels that depend on numerous factors for their content (age of cultivation, where they are grown, what they are grown in, etc.).
Furthermore, side effects from consuming lion’s mane do occur in some people, likely due to allergies. So, again, remember to consult a professional when considering lion’s mane mushroom to address health issues.
Future research on lion’s mane
Overall, the health benefits of lion’s mane mushroom are promising for now. More and more studies will be conducted in the coming years whilst popularity is high to confirm them. Until then, be mindful of marketing claims and consult a medical professional if you have any concerns.
We have more articles on mushrooms here on the MDPI Blog, why not begin with The Importance of Mushrooms.
