The word "reishi" refers to the reishi mushroom, scientifically named Ganoderma lucidum. Common Chinese names for the reishi mushroom are ling chih, and ling zhi. Its medicinal value has been touted for thousands of years in East Asia. Recent scientific experiments and clinical trials on the benefits of reishi are proving the ancients to be true. Reishi mushroom powder, capsules, tincture and extract are available for purchase at health food stores.
Characteristics
The surface of the reishi mushroom features a deep red color that appears varnished. Tom Volk, a professor of biology at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse says the mushroom is commonly found in warm climates, growing on hardwood logs and stumps in a state of decay. It has tough brown flesh, grows in a shelf form and has pores on its underside, rather than gills.
History
A Chinese emperor of the Ch'in Dynasty, Shin-huag, was the first to describe the medicinal use of the reishi mushroom. Professor Volk says reishi mushrooms play an important "fix-all" medicinal role in East Asian countries like China, Japan and South Korea. It has been historically used to impart longevity, wisdom and happiness, as well as a remedy for maladies including cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes, ulcers, asthma and psoriasis.
Cancer Treatment
Reishi mushrooms have the "possible therapeutic potential as a dietary supplement for an alternative therapy for breast and prostate cancer," according to a study conducted by the Methodist Research Institute Cancer Research Laboratory and published in the medical journal "Integrative Cancer Therapies." The study showed reishi mushrooms "suppressed cell adhesion and cell migration of highly invasive breast and prostate cancer cells."
Hepatic Fibrosis
The health condition hepatic fibrosis is the excessive buildup of connective tissue in the liver. This condition naturally occurs when the liver tries to heal itself in patients suffering from chronic liver conditions. According to a study conducted by the National Research Institute of Chinese Medicine and the Yung Kien Industrial Co. Biotechnology Research and Development Institute in Taiwan and published in the scientific journal "Phytotherapy-Research," hepatic fibrosis can be prevented if hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) are prevented from activating and proliferating. Based on experiments, they concluded an extract of reishi is effective in the prevention and treatment of hepatic fibrosis.
Types
There are two types of reishi, although the species is the same. The most common is the fungus-shelf variety; however, an antler-shaped mushroom called Rokkaku-Reishi forms in conditions of low light and varying carbon dioxide levels. Although the mushrooms are purported to have different healing properties, this has not been scientifically proven.
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