September 30, 2024
Podcast on Lion's Mane Transcript
Hi there, Mushroom Lovers!
I am your host Govind Nair and welcome to the MushroomRise podcast, where we explore the fascinating world of medicinal mushrooms, using science-backed objective information!
Wait a minute, what was today's topic?
I can't remember, I seem to have a brain fog. Maybe, I'm just getting old. This is making me depressed! Time to start taking some Lion's Mane mushrooms I guess!
Ah! That's our topic, Lion's Mane! Famous for it's neuroprotective, anti-aging, and anti-depressive effects. But that's not all, it has many other health benefits, all of which is backed up by good research.
I will start with some history and background on Lion's Mane, after which we will look at some interesting research, and once we have this understanding, we can go about analyzing the claims of commercially available Lion's Mane mushrooms, and also find out what to look for when buying supplements.
So, without further ado, let's jump right in!
Now, I don't know how many of you have seen Lion's Mane mushrooms, but once you see it, you'll never forget it. Because there is no other mushroom that looks like it!
It is actually quite beautiful, personally, I think that it looks like a cascading waterfall!
Others describe it as white, coral-like, with hundreds of strands of white spines hanging off it.
Its scientific name is Hericium erinaceus, both of these words mean 'hedgehog' in Latin, you can guess why!
It grows on dead or decaying broadleaf trees, like oak, beech, and maple. It occurs naturally in Asia, Europe, and North America, and in 2003 it was included in the red list of endangered and extinct species in 13 European countries, due to a decrease in its natural habitats.
Like many other medicinal mushrooms, Lion's Mane has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for a very long time. Where it is used as a remedy for gastrointestinal disorders, liver and kidney diseases, spleen disorders, and heart regulation. Indigenous Americans in North America have also used it as a preventive measure against bleeding.
However, it is also very popular as a food, and it is delicious!
There has also been a growing interest in the potential use of Lion's Mane for treating various neurological and cognitive disorders, but before we get into that, first we need to understand what bioactives are present in Lion's Mane, and also how these bioactives affect the body. A bioactive any compound that has an effect on a living organism.
All mushrooms have a fruiting body, which is what you see. And mycelium, which is like the root system of a mushroom.
This distinction is important because in Lion's Mane, the fruiting bodies and the mycelium contain different types of bioactive compounds.
These bioactives can be divided into two groups.The first one is of high-molecular-weight compounds, this includes polysaccharides like as beta glucans, as well as other polysaccharides and polypeptides.
Polysaccharides are large molecules, made up of smaller sugar molecules like glucose, forming a long chain. Similarly, polypeptides are chains of amino acids.
These compounds, particularly beta glucans, are similar to the ones found in Turkey Tails, which we covered in our first episode.
So, if you want to know more about Turkey Tails and what they can do for your health, please check out our first episode!
Like Turkey Tails, beta glucans from Lion's Mane have a significant impact on strengthening the body’s immune system. They also have anticancer, antioxidant and cholesterol-lowering properties.
It should be noted that, more beta glucans are found in fruiting bodies of Lion's Mane, than in its mycelium.
The second category of compounds in Lion's Mane consists of low-molecular-weight compounds, such as terpenoids and polyketides, Both of which are large and diverse groups of naturally occurring chemicals produced by plants, fungi, and bacteria, and many of these have pharmaceutical uses.
Lion's Mane mushrooms have two diterpenenoids which are of interest, hericenones and erinacines. Diterpeniods are terpenoids having 20 carbon atoms in their structures.
These compounds are special, because, they are capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier, and protect neurons as well as promote their growth.
The blood-brain barrier is a layer of tissue in the brain, which acts like a gate, allowing only certain compounds to get into the brain. Its purpose is to protect the brain from unwanted chemicals.
High molecular compounds, like polysaccharides cannot cross the blood-brain barrier. Hericenones are present in the fruiting body, and erinacines are found in the mycelium.
Now, these are not single, unique molecules; many different types of hericenones and erinacines are found in Lion's Mane, and more are being discovered every year.
It is important to note that beta glucans are more soluble in water, but hericenones and erinacines are alcohol soluble.
Lets step away from Lion's Mane for a moment and look at some compounds in our body, particularly in our brain. These are nerve growth factor (NGF), and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF).
NGF is involved in the regulation of growth, maintenance, proliferation, and survival of neurons.
It is critical for the survival and maintenance of neurons, because without NGF, neurons die; however, several recent studies suggest that NGF is also involved in other functions, including regulation of the immune system.
NGF cannot cross the blood-brain barrier, and they are also easily broken down by enzymes in the body. Because of this, NGF cannot be used as a drug, unless you inject it directly into the brain.
Instead, researchers are looking at compounds that promote NGF synthesis. And this is where compounds like hericenones and erinacines come in.
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is also essential for neuronal development and survival, synaptic plasticity (which is the ability of the connections between neurons to change their strength), and cognitive function. In several neurodegenerative disorders, like Alzheimer's disease, there is a dysfunction in BDNF signaling.
Now that we have established that background, let's look at specific areas of research.
As with any drug, there are three types of experiments or studies which matter: In increasing order of importance, they are; in-vitro, in-vivo, and clinical trials.
In-vitro experiments are done in a test tube or a petri dish.
In-vivo experiments use animals like mice or rats, and clinical trials involve human patients.
In-vitro and in-vivo studies tell us how a drug works, or its mechanism of action, and clinical trials tell us what effect it has on patients.
For Lion's Mane, all three types of studies have been done. However, most of the research has been done in-vivo, that is using mice and rats.
Various experiments using Lion's Mane extracts or particular erinacines, like erinacine A have found that they promote the expression of the NGF gene. They also found that, certain erinacines increase the production of NGF and BDNF.
One study found that a water extract of fresh fruiting bodies accelerated the regeneration of damaged nerves.
In Alzheimer's disease, a protein called amyloid beta form plaques or deposits in the brain. It is not a cause of Alzheimer's but a symptom.
However, it's accumulation in the brain does lead to brain dysfunction. Consumption of Lion's Mane mycelium was found to reduce the number of amyloid beta plaques.
Surprisingly, they also found that even when NGF is absent, the mycelial extract was capable of inducing axon outgrowth. Axons are longest part of a neuron and they generally take signals away from the neuron. So, they are very important for nerve signaling.
This experiment has led to the thinking that NGF and compounds in Lion's Mane may act through different protective and regenerative mechanisms compared to NGF.
In fact, the neuroprotective activity of Lion's Mane was found to be higher than that of NGF, possibly because it also has additional antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
Neurons also have a layer of tissue called the myelin sheath, which is also very important in transmitting nerve signals. Extracts from the fruiting body were found to help the process of myelination, that is the formation of the myelin sheath, after the myelin sheath had been damaged.
All of this is important for diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, where there is age related neuronal degeneration, and damage.
Another study using human skin cells found that compounds from Lion's Mane could help in the treatment or prevention of age-related diseases.
There is a part of the brain called the hippocampus, which is involved in learning and memory. In one part of the hippocampus, new neurons are formed. It has been found that this formation of new neurons is essential in treating depression. An ethanol extract of Lion's Mane was found to significantly increase the proliferation and survival of precursor cells in the hippocampus.
In one study, they used extracts from both the fruiting body and mycelium, basically to mimic what is generally available in Lion's Mane supplements, and saw improvements in cognitive abilities, and a reversal of cognitive decline in older mice.
There are a few clinical studies showing that Lion's Mane extracts can improve depression-anxiety mood disorders and also improve sleep quality.
In another slightly non-conventional study, they made cookies containing Lion's Mane, the consumption of which led to alleviation of symptoms related short-term memory impairment and improved cognitive function.
There is a gene called inducible nitric oxide synthase or iNOS, which is usually elevated in response to inflammatory conditions and oxidative stress. They found that a particular hericinone, called hericenone C may inhibit iNOS expression.
Mycelial extracts were also found to reduce the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, these cytokines are a part of our immune system and their levels rise in response to inflammation.
It was also demonstrated that extracts from both the fruiting body and mycelium effected reductions in body weight, abdominal fat tissue, blood glucose levels, and total serum cholesterol.
In short, we have quite strong evidence that hericinones and erinacines positively affect the brain, by protecting neurons and also by promoting neuronal growth.
Other than all this, scientists have also used genetic engineering techniques to create new types of erinacines in yeast, which also showed neuroprotective properties.
In many studies, a dosage of 60 and 120 milligrams per kilogram of body weight was used.
Now, before we proceed, it is necessary to mention that, studies with less than 50 people is considered small, and this has been the case for most clinical studies using Lion's Mane. That does not mean that these studies are irrelevant. Studies involving over 100 volunteers have been conducted, these studies are considered significant, and they have agreed with the smaller studies. Importantly, no toxic side effects were reported.
Now that we have all this data, we can start looking at what we should look for in commercial Lion's Mane supplements.
This is also a good time to talk about extraction, which is basically breaking up of the cells to release the bioactives. Such released bioactives are said to be bioavailable, i.e, they are in a form ready to be used by the body.
If the cells are not broken up, the bioavailability will necessarily be low. Extraction is done by applying heat, temperature, and mechanical operations like grinding and blending. Usually, a combination of these methods are used.
So obviously, the first thing you should look for is what extraction method was used. If it is just a powder, without extraction, the bioavailability will be low.
Hot water extraction is the most common method, this process will however, release mostly polysaccharides. Hence, products using hot water extraction should mention the percentage of beta-glucans, not polysaccharides.
Remember, beta-glucans are polysaccharides but all poly-saccharides are not beta-glucans, and beta-glucans are the only bioactive polysaccharides in Lion's Mane. Even starch is a polysaccharide but it is not bioactive.
There are also dried alcohol extracts, and dual extracts. Dual extracts involve hot water extraction, and drying, followed by alcohol extraction.
If you recall, hericenones and erinacines, which are the compounds in Lion's Mane responsible for its neuroprotective and neurogenerative effects, are alcohol soluble. Additionally, hericenones are present only in the fruiting body and erinacines, only in the mycelium.
So, if only the fruiting body or the mycelium is used, one of these important compounds is definitely missing. And if a seller claims otherwise, they are selling you a lie.
For example, if they are using mycelium and claim the presence of hericenones, you should know that, that is impossible.
Dried alcohol extracts should mention at least the percentage of diterpenes, and dual extracts should additionally mention the percentage of beta-glucans.
Does all this mean that hot water extracts don't contain any hericenones or erinacines? No, these will still be there in the extract, it just means that the bioavalability of these compounds will be lower than an alcohol extract. Besides, hot water extracts have been successfully used in some clinical studies.
It is also worth mentioning here that there has been one in-vitro study where two polysaccharides extracted from Lion's Mane were shown to protect nerve cells from amyloid beta induced toxicity. But, this is not a very strong evidence because it was not done in a living organism. Besides, those polysaccharides definitely cannot cross the blood-brain barrier.
You will come across ratios like 4:1 or 10:1 these are are not useful because they don't tell us anything about the actual amount of bioactives.
Tinctures are a bit tricky to analyze when it comes to Lion's Mane. Di-terpenes are just about 0.5% of the mass of the mushroom. How much of this gets into the alcohol, is anyone's guess because, there has been no research on this.
My take is that, even if a good amount of di-terpenes gets into the alcohol, a tincture is mostly alcohol or water, and that is what you end up consuming.
The most important part however, is a third party lab report, which should mention the beta-glucans, di-terpenes or Erinacin A. The difficulty with measuring hericinones and erinacines is that no commercial reference standards are available for these unique compounds, that is, there is nothing to compare them against.
Currently, methods like gas chromatography and mass spectrometry are used to determine the amounts of these di-terpenes. Also, a lab report should mention if there are any unwanted things like heavy metals, microbes, fillers, and additives.
Therefore, to ensure that the Lion's Mane supplement that you buy has the complete set of bioactives, it should use both the fruiting body as well as the mycelium, it should be extracted, and it should be accompanied by a third party lab report, ideally, one report for every batch!
Coming to the dosage, a dosage of 500 to 600 mg capsules, about three times a day is recommended. Clinical studies have used higher doses of 2.5 to 5 grams a day.
So, to summarize,the important compounds in Lion's Mane are beta glucans, hericinones, and erinacines; Hericinones are present in the fruiting body, and erinacines in the mycelium.
Therefore, the entire mushroom has bioactives. Both hericinones and erinacines have neuroprotective and neurogenerative proprties.
This makes it very useful in improving memory, treating depression, as well as in overcoming the loss of mental functions due to old age, and diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.
And finally, it is best to use a product where both the fruiting body and mycelium are used, and a third-party lab report is provided.
As always, do consult a medical practitioner before consuming medicinal mushrooms, especially if you are taking other medications.
And with that, my dear mushroom lovers, we have come to end our show. We will be bringing you more science backed information as well as discussions on medicinal mushrooms in future episodes.
Till then, stay healthy, and stay wise!
