The name Ganoderma lucidum is very good. It sounds very effective. The ancients thought it could "invigorate qi and calm nerves" and "prolong life". In "The Legend of the White Snake", Bai Suzhen scared Xu Xian to death and needed "immortal grass" to reincarnate - that "immortal grass" is glossy ganoderma. In the folk, the influence of fairy tales is unparalleled, just like the small fresh meat in the entertainment circle.
In modern times, businesses use scientific terminology and new processing technology to interpret and package these magical legends, which also produces a variety of dazzling supplements.
Are they really so magical?
What is Ganoderma lucidum
Ganoderma lucidum is some large fungi, which is similar to mushrooms in biology. At present, there are about dozens of species known. However, compared with ordinary mushrooms, Ganoderma lucidum is hard, lignified and has a bad taste. Of course, no one cares whether it is delicious or not.
What are the "special ingredients" in Ganoderma lucidum
The evidence of these effects is very "preliminary", far from enough to say that "scientific research confirms". It needs to be emphasized again that many people understand "preliminary research" as "effective, but scientists have not yet proved it", which is completely wishful thinking. In fact, the value of "preliminary research" is that "there is no negation" and "we can continue to study". Subsequent research may find convincing evidence, or it may be impossible to find it, or it may find evidence to the contrary. The scientific and industrial circles have made a lot of efforts to improve the efficacy of Ganoderma lucidum from "preliminary research" to "full evidence", but they have not done so for many years. In the end, the efficacy value deduced from these "preliminary studies" is not worth believing, which means that different people have different opinions.
The so-called "contains protein, fat, carbohydrate, XX vitamins, XX minerals..." It is correct nonsense. If you are interested in something, you can easily see that the daily food is superior to Ganoderma lucidum. What we hope is that it contains special "functional ingredients" or "bioactive ingredients". At present, triterpenoids and polysaccharides are of more concern. These "active ingredients" extracted from different kinds of Ganoderma lucidum are not completely the same. The efficacy studied in the literature includes anti-tumor, immune regulation, anti-virus (such as HIV) and so on. Based on these studies, in marketing, it has demonstrated the anti-cancer, blood pressure reduction, treatment of AIDS, diabetes, hepatitis and other diseases.
Because of the high reputation of Ganoderma lucidum, many researchers have explored it and published many papers. Most of these studies use different methods to extract the ingredients from Ganoderma lucidum, determine its chemistry through modern technical analysis, and then use cell experiments and animal experiments to explore its "efficacy".
What is Ganoderma lucidum spore powder
"Spore" refers to the germ cell that can directly or indirectly develop into a new individual after leaving the parent. There are many "old" and lignified parts in Ganoderma lucidum, and the spores contain more "active ingredients".
Ganoderma lucidum spores have an outer wall composed of chitin. The so-called "wall broken spore powder" refers to the product that has undergone some processing treatment and caused the outer wall of this layer to be damaged. In vitro experiments, "wall breaking" will greatly facilitate the extraction of spore contents. This is the same reason that ground coffee or tea powder should be easier to brew.
The so-called "wall broken spore powder" has better effect, which is based on the assumption that these spores are "really effective". As mentioned above, these "active ingredients" in Ganoderma lucidum only show "possible effectiveness" in cell experiments and some animal experiments. Whether they are credible in humans is a matter of "different opinions". If those effects are not reliable, then there is no credible basis for "helping content release" broken spore powder.
Will there be safety problems when eating Ganoderma lucidum and related products
Many people believe that this "natural" product is "safe without side effects" even if it is "ineffective". In this way of thinking, we would rather believe in the legendary effect. It is just a waste of money anyway. What if it works?
But Ganoderma lucidum, like other creatures in nature, does not exist for human beings. Their evolution is only to adapt to the environment, not to serve mankind - it is wishful thinking to expect them to be only "good" and not "bad" to mankind.
About Ganoderma lucidum and various products based on Ganoderma lucidum, the summary of NIH in the United States is as follows:
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It means that if it is Ganoderma lucidum extract, it may be safe to take it orally for less than one year; If the Ganoderma lucidum powder is taken orally for more than one month, it may be "unsafe" - there have been reports of Ganoderma lucidum powder injuring the liver.
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