Lacquered polypore (Ganoderma lucidum): a unique medicinal mushroom

Short description

Lingzhi are mushrooms of immortality, this is exactly what Chinese healers believe, classifying this mushroom as a wonder of nature. The Japanese call this species “rei-shi” (reishi) and “mannentake” (translated as ten-thousand-year-old mushroom) and classify it as a plant of spiritual power.

Based on this fruiting body, tinctures and extracts are prepared, it is grown and harvested. Find out everything about the healing properties of the miracle mushroom “ling zhi”, how to take it correctly, and in what form. What do you need to know about the strange fruit?

Description and photo of varnished tinder fungus

The lacquered tinder fungus, scientific name Ganoderma lucidum, Reishi mushroom, lingzhi belong to the Basidiomycota department, Ganaderma family. At its core, it is a parasitic fungus that grows well on diseased or dying trees. Prefers to settle on deciduous trees: oak, beech, hornbeam, birch, alder. Occasionally can be found on coniferous trees.

Fruiting body

The fruiting body of the mushroom is annual, less often 2-3 years old, capped. The cap is kidney-shaped or ovoid, almost flat. The dimensions of average specimens reach 30-80 × 100-250 × 20-30 mm.

The surface of the cap is glossy, as if varnished, but uneven. The edges are pointed, wavy, slightly curved downwards. From the stem to the edge the color gradually fades. The visible side of the fruiting body is divided into growth rings. The color can vary from reddish to dirty purple, sometimes even black, with a subtle yellow tint. The color of the fruiting body directly depends on the type of substrate on which it grows.

On a note! The most medicinal polypores are considered to be shiny ones, collected from old oak trees.

The flesh of the mushroom is dense, woody, without any particular smell or taste. The inner surface of the mushroom, hymenophores, is tubular-type, with tiny ocher-colored short tubes. The pulp darkens as it matures, becomes coarse and secretes brown spore powder.

Leg

The mushroom stalk is lateral, slightly less often central, cylindrical in shape. The surface is uneven brown and also shiny. The contents of the leg are dense, dry, cork-like. The length of the leg can reach 25 cm, but more often it does not exceed 5-15 cm. The diameter is 2-5 cm.

Edibility

Ganoderma lacquered is not eaten. Since the end of the 18th century, it has been cultivated in Southeast Asia exclusively for medicinal purposes, as described in ancient medical treatises from China, Korea, and Japan. Cultivation technology: submerged cultivation.

Interesting! The mushroom develops a pronounced bitter taste after brewing.

Time and place of fruiting

The Ashtray mushroom is quite common in the world, but in our area it grows extremely rarely. Resinous Ganoderma is found in the Far East, Altai, Carpathians and the Caucasus. Habitat: coniferous forests with a predominance of sequoia. Lingzhi often grows on willow, beech, alder, and oak.

Fruiting time is from June to late autumn.

Reference! Reishi is very rarely found in the wild, so it was once considered a product of aristocrats and emperors.

Chemical composition of Reishi mushroom

The chemical composition of the varnished tinder fungus is varied and unusually rich. To extract active substances, the fruiting body is more often used than the mycelium, due to their higher concentration.

Ganoderma lucidum contains in large quantities:

• amino acids;
• carbohydrates;
• proteins;
• peptides;
• volatile oils;
• vitamins;
• macroelements;
• microelements.

Polysaccharides and triterpenes are of greatest value from a medical point of view, due to their high therapeutic effect. Germanium is found in intense concentration in the body of the fungus, which has a pronounced antitumor and immunomodulatory effect. There are no direct analogues of a substance with such a strong effect in nature.

On a note! Reishi mushroom extract is used to make tablets, capsules, dragees, drops, tinctures and decoctions.

Medicinal properties of varnished polypores

Research by modern and ancient fungotherapists has shown the extraordinary healing and restorative ability of the Reishi mushroom in the most advanced and complex cases. It’s not for nothing that Ganoderma is called the “sacred mushroom of longevity”; it contains large quantities of natural antioxidants that effectively slow down aging.

Organic germanium activates metabolic processes, improves immunity, and has a pronounced antifungal, antibacterial and antiviral effect. The action of this substance is similar to hemoglobin, red blood cells that transport oxygen to tissues and prevent oxygen starvation at the cellular level. Germanium is of particular value as an antitumor agent, preventing the growth and spread of metastases throughout the body of cancer patients.

The action of triterpenoids is similar to steroid hormones. Triterpenoids have antiallergic, antitumor, analgesic and hepatoprotective effects. Polysaccharides effectively reduce blood pressure and stabilize blood cholesterol levels.

Reishi mushroom tea

The most popular and easiest way to consume Reishi mushroom is considered to be decoction or tea. With its help they fight excess weight, and use it in the first hours of colds.

The recipe for miraculous tea is simple and affordable:

1 way. 2 tablespoons of dry crushed tinder fungus are poured with 1 liter of boiling water and left for 9-10 hours.

Method 2. 1 teaspoon of powder is poured into a glass of water overnight, boiled for about 5-10 minutes in the morning and filtered.

Ganoderma lacquered tea has a unique taste, so you should be prepared for it. Tea is drunk undiluted, on an empty stomach.

Important! It is prohibited to sweeten Reishi mushroom tea!

Who can be confused with?

Like many other varieties of polypores, lingzhi grows on tree trunks and decayed stumps. But distinguishing it from other species is easy and simple. The varnished polypore has a long lateral stalk, which other saprophytes do not have.

Beginning mushroom pickers and healers may confuse Ganoderma lucidum with agaric, which is called a leafy sponge. This mushroom is also used in the fight against tumor diseases.

You can distinguish agarik from lingzhi by the following characteristics:

• rough, rough surface of the cap;
• the flesh is spongy, porous and elastic to the touch;
• the surface is white, covered with brown spots;
• grows mainly on larches.

They confuse the young fruiting body of agaric and the varnished tinder fungus. An adult agaric grows up to 30 cm in diameter and 10 kg in weight.

Growing at home and in the country

Cultivating medicinal lingzhi mushrooms at home is not difficult. Another important fact is that from one mycelium you can get a harvest for 4–5 years, which is also very profitable.

For example, the cheapest place to buy tinder fungus is in Asian countries - China, Thailand and Vietnam. In Russia, capsules in a box cost more than one thousand rubles, while in Thailand such a box will cost about 200 baht.

There are several ways to breed Ganoderma: growing on stumps, cultivating on sawdust and in vitro.

How to grow lingzhi on stumps:

1. Prepare the stumps of deciduous and fruit trees (coniferous trees are not suitable), mycelium, substrate, and a place for future planting. It would be optimal to place the mycelium away from sunlight, in an area with high humidity.
2. Prepare the soil for saprophytes (stumps on which future tinder fungi will grow). To do this, you need to prepare a special soil from 5 parts peat, 1 part limestone and 4 parts soil. You can supplement the substrate with straw or manure.
3. The above components must be thoroughly mixed and fertilized in the stump hole. After planting the tree, you need to cover it with substrate around its entire circumference.
4. Using a drill, make holes in the wood with a depth of 7 and a diameter of 1.2 cm. Insert special wooden sticks with mycelium into them.
5. Cover the clearing with film. The temperature in the area must be maintained at 20–26 ºС at all times. During the cold season, you can move the stumps to a warm room.

Important! The more sticks with mycelium placed on the wood, the greater the harvest.

How to grow lingzhi on sawdust:

1. Prepare a substrate from the following components: 80% sawdust with 20% additional nutrient mixtures (oatmeal, barley husks, minerals).
2. Mix the mixture thoroughly and moisten it slightly.
3. Place the substrate in a container and fill it with mycelium.
4. Sprinkle the mycelium with soil. It will take 15–20 days for the fruiting bodies to germinate.
5. During this period, it is very important to maintain an optimal humidity level: at least 75%. The room temperature should not fall below 18 ºС.
6. As soon as mycelium appears on the surface of the sawdust, you need to make cuts in the bags. This will not only help the mushrooms germinate faster, but will also ensure normal access of oxygen to the fruiting bodies.

Reference! This cultivation method allows you to get a harvest faster, but its technology requires increased attention and care.

Application in medicine

Lingzhi grown in the wild is much more healing than artificially cultivated. The mushroom grows mainly in single specimens and is extremely rare.

On a note ! The average frequency of growth of Ganoderma varnish in the forest is one fruiting body per 100 thousand trees.

Reishi mushroom is an effective remedy for treating a number of medical pathologies. The scope of application of tinder is quite wide:

• prevention of ischemic heart disease and heart attack;
• antitumor effect;
• regulation of the immune system;
• hepatoprotective effect;
• antigeriatric effect;
• regulation of the nervous and respiratory systems;
• antiviral, antibacterial effect;
• antimycotic effect;
• antioxidant effect.

After a short course of consuming lingzhi, there is a significant improvement in the quality of hair, nails, and skin. The functioning of the gastrointestinal tract is stabilized.

In 1996, Japanese scientist Wang Jing conducted a series of studies on mice and came to the conclusion that polypore has a pronounced stimulating effect on the speed of nervous reactions. After regularly taking the mushroom extract in the form of an injection for a week, the learning process of the animals accelerated several times.

Attention ! An extract from Ganoderma lacquerum successfully fights benign tumors of the breast and prostate gland.

Application in oncology

The basis for the strong antitumor effect of the polypore fungus is poliosis. Together with peptidoglycans and organic germanium, the substances have a unique effect. According to research by scientists led by Sha Dejing, who worked in testing laboratories in 2002, the lacquered tinder fungus does not directly eliminate cancerous tumors. It gently stimulates the body's natural immune functions, in particular the effect of its own macrophages and lymphocytes. The immune system of patients with tumors begins to independently destroy pathological cells.

The effect of tinder fungus extract on patients who have undergone radiation therapy is especially striking. The poliosis contained in the Reishi mushroom actively protects brain cells from radiation sickness. Cancer patients tolerate chemotherapy much easier if they take a decoction of tinder fungus for at least 20 days before starting the course.

Attention! The condition of a cancer patient is alleviated by using lingzhi alcohol tincture, 60 drops daily, for 3-6 months.

Pulmonary and allergic diseases

The pronounced antihistamine effect of polypore helps fight serious allergic reactions and prevent angioedema in the future.

The use of ganoderma for chronic bronchitis and cough of unknown etiology and bronchial asthma stimulates the formation of young epidermal cells in the bronchi. The condition of patients with asthma improves significantly, and the frequency of attacks is reduced. There is a positive effect on patients with tuberculosis in the initial stage.

Restoring immunity and treating diabetes

The tinder fungus contains quite large amounts of vitamin C, B vitamins, vitamin D and K, thiamine, riboflamin, alpha-tocopherol, and folic acid. The content of micro- and macroelements is much higher than in vegetables. Ganoderma contains calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, iron, sodium, zinc, copper, manganese, and selenium.

The rich composition of nutrients has a positive effect on the functioning of the immune system of both healthy and chronically ill and weakened people. The mushroom has a pronounced effect against autoimmune diseases. As you know, immune stimulants cannot be used for such diseases; this only accelerates diseases of this kind. Reishi mushroom gently boosts a person's own immunity and prevents the formation of pathological aggressive cells that devour tissue. The symptoms of such a complex disease as psoriasis subside even during periods of serious stress and upheaval.

Triterpenoids in combination with germanium and polysaccharides effectively fight cirrhosis, alcoholic and viral hepatitis, and normalize liver function. After drinking tinder fungus tea, the body gets rid of toxins and waste. Patients feel a surge of strength and vigor, their psycho-emotional state stabilizes, and a desire to live appears.

Ganodermic acids help stabilize blood sugar. Patients with type 2 diabetes already in the second week of using polypore significantly reduce the number of insulin injections and reduce body weight.

Pancreatitis, colitis, gastritis, duodenal and gastric ulcers are alleviated under the influence of antispasmodics and vitamin B3, which are part of the Reishi mushroom. The smooth muscles of the intestines relax, and colic stops tormenting the patient. There is a very rapid normalization of the balance of intestinal microflora, as a result of which vitamins and minerals are absorbed much more efficiently and quickly. ARVI, herpes and viral stomatitis are much easier and go away faster if you drink bitter tea from the tinder fungus in the morning.

For cardiovascular diseases

Atherosclerosis, arterial hypertension, coronary heart disease, thrombosis, thrombophlebitis, obliterating endarteritis recede under the influence of the active substances of the tinder fungus. Post-stroke and post-infarction conditions occur much easier in the acute period if the patient regularly receives an extract of the Reishi mushroom, due to stimulation of oxygen supply to the brain and myocardium.

Regular use of the tincture helps normalize pressure in blood vessels, restores the normal rhythm of the heart and heart contractions. The pronounced anti-sclerotic and anti-thrombotic effect of the fungus has been noticed by many patients.

Medicinal properties and contraindications, benefits and possible harm

Reishi will be replaced all over the world, primarily due to its unique ability to have a detrimental effect on the growth of tumors.

In addition, lingzhi has other medicinal properties:

• normalization and support of the cardiovascular system;
• fight against diseases of the bronchopulmonary system (bronchitis, pneumonia, tuberculosis);
• treatment of various viral and bacterial infections (trichomonellosis, chlamydia, herpes);
• anti-allergenic;
• relieves asthma attacks;

• prevention of Alzheimer's disease. Reishi helps improve memory, delays the appearance of the first signs of such diseases;
• Regular use of Reishi-based products helps reduce migraine attacks (proven in research);
• removes free radicals from the body, protects against radiation;
• effectively lowers blood sugar levels, which is extremely important for people suffering from type 1 and type 2 diabetes;

• is a good antispasmodic, relieves pain;
• improves vision and hearing;
• actively used in the production of cosmetics, helps smooth out wrinkles and eliminates skin problems;
• is a natural antidepressant; after using Reishi-based preparations, extraordinary lightness appears in the body.

Reference! According to reviews of people who took Ganoderma vitilina in the form of drugs, their vitality significantly increased, their activity increased, and their mood improved.

Reishi-based preparations are prohibited for children under 12 years of age, pregnant women and nursing mothers, and people with individual intolerance.

Contraindications

It is important to understand that the “sacred mushroom” is not a panacea for all ills. Like any natural medicine, it has a number of contraindications. It is strictly prohibited to treat children under 3 years of age with Reishi mushroom, due to the high concentration of active substances in the pulp of the fruiting body.

Medicines based on tinder fungus are strictly contraindicated for:

• individual intolerance to active components;
• mental illnesses in the acute phase;
• breastfeeding and pregnancy in any trimester;
• tendency to bleeding, especially in hemophilia.

Immediately after abdominal operations, using varnished tinder fungus is dangerous to health.

Attention! It is strictly prohibited to use the polypore fungus as a medicinal product in the presence of chronic diseases without consulting your doctor!