BackgroundLarge amounts of Ganoderma lucidum (GL) commercial products are provided in the worldwide market such as powders, tea bags, or capsules as dietary supplements which contained triterpenoids and/or polysaccharides. Therefore, it was estimated that several thousand tons of GL residues (GLR) are produced and discarded. For recycling uses, the aim of this study was to evaluate the benefits of two hot-water extracts from GLR (HWP_GLR) and solid-state fermentation GLR inoculated with GL mycelia (HWP_GLRF) on the growths of Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Bifidobacterium longum. The RAW264.7 cells were used to investigate the effects of HWP_GLR and HWP_GLRF on nitric oxide productions, phagocytic activities against FITC-labeled E. coli, and to lower lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-binding capacities. The powders of GLR and GLRF were used as additives in the commercial feeds for feeding broiler chicks in vivo to evaluate the immune-stimulatory and prebiotic activities.ResultsHWP_GLR and HWP_GLRF with molecular size 5 to 8 kDa were showed to stimulate growths of L. rhamnosus and B. longum. It was found that in the presence of polymyxin B HWP_GLR and HWP_GLRF could stimulate nitric oxide productions, elevate phagocytic activities against FITC-labeled E. coli, and to lower lipopolysaccharide-binding capacities in RAW264.7 cells. The broiler chicks were selected for feedings in vivo. The 1-day-old chicks were fed commercial feeds for 1 week, and then were fed without or with 4 or 8 % of GLR and GLRF additives for 3 weeks. There was no significant weight difference among feeding groups. However, the phagocytosis and natural killer cytotoxicity in the peripheral bloods, and prebiotic activities of bifidobacteria in feces of GLR and/or GLRF groups were significantly different compared to the control (P < 0.05).ConclusionsThe GLR, GLRF, and their hot-water extracts with beneficial activities could be processed as feed additives which could increase the waste-recycling.