Mycosphere Essays 20: Therapeutic potential of Ganoderma species: Insights into its use as traditional medicine

Abstract

The genus Ganoderma (Ganodermataceae) has a long history in traditional medicine to improve longevity and health in Asia. Ganoderma has been widely used in multiple therapeutic activities as well as dietary supplements to prevent and treat many diseases. Several classes of bioactive substances have been isolated and identified from Ganoderma, such as polysaccharides, triterpenoids, nucleosides, sterols, fatty acids, protein and alkaloids. There are numerous research publications, which report the abundance and variety of biological actions initiated by the metabolites of Ganoderma. Investigation on different metabolic activities of Ganoderma species has been performed both in vitro and in vivo. In many cases, however, it has been questioned whether Ganoderma is solely a nourishment supplement for wellbeing or merely a helpful "medication" for restorative purposes. There has been no any conclusive report of human trials using Ganoderma species as a direct control agent for diseases. In addition, there is no evidence supporting the usage of Ganoderma species (excluding G. lucidum) as potential supplements for cancer or other diseases in humans since no preclinical trials have been performed up to date. In this review, the beneficial medicinal properties of several species of Ganoderma (excluding G. lucidum) and their secondary metabolites are discussed. Ganoderma species can be used as a therapeutic drug, but more direct scientific evidence should be made available in the future. The efficiency of Ganoderma in clinical treatments should be substantiated with more biomedical research and their true impact assessed on human health with more standardized clinical evaluations so that the feasibility of biologically active extracts of Ganoderma species in alternative treatments can be recommended.

Amauroderma (Ganodermataceae, Polyporales) – bioactive compounds, beneficial properties and two new records from Laos

“…Previously described members of Ganodermataceae have a long history of use to promote health and longevity in Asia (Hapuarachchi et al 2017). Its species are widely researched, Fig.…”

In vitro antiviral activity of medicinal mushroom Ganoderma neo-japonicum Imazeki against enteroviruses that caused hand, foot and mouth disease

“…Besides polysaccharides, triterpenoids are also the common constituent of Ganoderma mushrooms Hapuarachchi et al, 2017). Triterpenoids isolated from G.lucidum have previously demonstrated virucidal activity against EV-A71 infection in RD cells (Zhang et al, 2014).…”

“…In the past decade, Ganoderma mushrooms have been reported as one of the best-known medicinal fungus species with a wide range of medicinal properties, including antiviral, anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties (Sliva, 2003;Li et al, 2006;Baby et al, 2015;Hapuarachchi et al, 2017). G.lucidum and G.tsugae are the 2 most extensively investigated Ganoderma species thus far (Ferreira et al, 2015;Huang et al, 2019).…”

Molecular Characterization and in-vitro Regeneration of Wild Ganoderma lucidum from Abuja, Nigeria

“…lucidum is a polypore mushroom that is hard (even when fresh), corky, and flat, with a shiny red or greenish or yellow or light/dark brownvarnished, kidney-shaped cap and depending on specimen age, white to dull brown pores underneath [16]. Among edible and medicinal mushrooms, most studies have been done on Ganoderma species especially G. lucidum because of their unique medicinal value [17]. A variety of commercial G. lucidum products are available in various forms, such as powders, dietary supplements, and tea [18].…”