GANODERMA LUCIDUM: CHARACTERISTICS, HABITAT AND BENEFITS - BIOLOGY - 2025

Ganoderma lucidum is a basidiomycete mushroom whose properties are widely used for its nutraceutical importance. In particular, in Chinese medicine it is used as a health food. Due to the specifications of its macroscopic appearance, it is an unmistakable mushroom. It is commonly known as ling zhi, ling chu, ling chih in Chinese; reishi, sachitake or mannetake in Japanese or yongzhi in Korea. It is also known as pipa and ardagai pipa.

Within the taxonomic hierarchy, Ganoderma lucidum occurs in the class Basidiomycetes, order Aphyllophorales, and the family Polyporaceae. Its fruitful body has been consumed as a dietary supplement both in the East (China and Japan) and in other parts of the world for more than 2000 years.

Ganoderma lucidum. Source: pixabay.com

Its cultivation is done artificially in at least ten countries, with China being the leader in the production of this mushroom. They are followed by Korea, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan and recently the United States.

Ganoderma lucidum secretes various metabolites such as triterpenes and polysaccharides. In medicine it is used to treat various diseases such as chronic hepatitis, kidney problems, anorexia, hypertension, insomnia, as well as for mental illnesses. It is a mushroom that is currently marketed in capsule form.

Reishi mushroom. Dave O from North Vancouver, CANADA

characteristics

Ganoderma lucidum is a saprophytic basidiomycete that grows on wood rot and degrades it. Produces a hard and shiny looking fruiting body.

This fungal species is a fragile fungus, which can present variable colors such as black, white, yellow, gold, blue and violet. it is distributed in all warm latitudes, growing on damaged or senescent trees.

The fruiting body of G. lucidum is called ling-zhi in Chinese and reishi in Japanese, two countries where it has been used to treat various diseases for thousands of years.

Carpophorus

It is variable in shape, sometimes spatula-shaped, sometimes kidney-like, but generally semicircular. The size can go from 10 cm in diameter to even 15 cm.

Ganoderma lucidum. Apple2000

The fruiting body may be mahogany in color, although at maturity the color of the rim varies from yellowish to white. Then when it ages, it looks completely mahogany again.

The surface of the fruiting body is smooth and wavy, covered by a type of varnish that gives it a shiny appearance.

Hymenio

The hymenium is made up of elongated white tubes that turn to cinnamon tones as time passes. The hymenium presents round pores when they are young, becoming angular when they are adults. Its size is usually approximately 5 mm.

Ganoderma lucidum porous hymenium. Eric Steinert

Foot

The foot can be irregular in size, usually long, with a slightly thickened cylinder shape. It is the same color as the hat and is usually covered in a type of varnish. The foot is normally lateral.

Meat

The thick part of this mushroom is thick and hard, with fibers. It has a light cream color that varies depending on the age. It is odorless.

Taxonomy

Fungi kingdom

Phylum: Basidiomycota

Subdivision: Basidiomycota

Class: Agaricomycetes

Subclass: Aphyllophoromycetidae

Order: Polyporales

Family: Ganodermataceae

Genus: Ganoderma P. Karst.

Species: G anoderma lucidum (Curtis) P. Karst (1881)

Ganoderma lucidum has the synonym Polyporus lucidus (Curtis) Fr.; while, its basionym is Boletus lucidus Curtis.

In addition, it has other names by which it is also known. Some of the best known synonyms are: Agaricus lignosus, Boletus castaneus, Boletus flabelliformis, Boletus ramulosum var. flabelliformis, Fomes japonicus, Fomes lucidus, Fomes rosasceus var. martellii, Ganoderma japonicum, Ganoderma ostreatum.

Habitat and distribution

It is a cosmopolitan fungus that is distributed in all hot regions and grows on dead or damaged plant matter (trunks).

The pipe develops at any time of the year, being able to be at the base of the trees or attached to trunks or buried roots, generally oaks.

Despite being a fungus that grows in many parts of the world, species have been identified in countries such as Cameroon, Brunei, Colombia, Congo, Cyprus, Ghana, Great Britain, Guyana, Hong Kong, Jamaica, Italy, Malawi, Kenya, Papua New Guinea, Puerto Rico, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. In Spain you can find it in the Canary Islands.

Reishi landscape. Source: pixabay.com

In nature, it is possible to find where there are the optimal conditions to germinate its spores, because they have an extremely hard shell. It grows in hot conditions and with high relative humidity. It is found artificially growing on substrates such as grain, sawdust, wood logs, and cork.

Culture

In nature, G. lucidum is scarcely found, and due to its wide medicinal use and the demands of the international market, it is necessary to continuously increase its cultivation. Therefore, in modern agriculture, the cultivation of the biomass of the mycelium of this fungus has become essential.

It is well known for decades that Ganoderma lucidum is grown in bioreactors on solid substrates or submerged in liquid substrates.

The quality and content of the active compounds of this fungus vary from strain to strain, as they respond to the locality, the cultivation conditions, the growth stage of the fungus, the processes and procedures and the formulation of its preparation.

Culture media

Ganoderma lucidum is grown in sacks or bottles filled with sawdust or on natural logs. The technology for both methods depends on environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, and oxygen.

Ganoderma micelles grow between 10 and 38 ° C, with an optimal incubation temperature between 25 and 32 ° C. The optimum moisture content of the sawdust substrate is 65-70%. For its part, the optimum pH should be between 4.2 and 5.3.

Ganoderma lucidum culture. frankenstoen from Portland, Oregon

Regarding light conditions, this fungus can grow in the absence of it during the development of the mycelium. Whereas, the presence of oxygen is essential for its growth since G. lucidum is strictly aerobic.

In the next stage of cultivation (formation of primordia), the fruiting bodies of G. lucidum develop between 20 and 34 ° C, with an optimum temperature between 27 and 32 ° C.

In this phase, the humidity of the grow room should be kept at approximately 90% in primordia induction; between 70 and 80% during the formation of caps; and 30-40% in the final phase of the development of the fruiting body.

During the development of the primordia of this fungal species, light between 50 and 450 lux is required. Then, after the hat is formed, the grow room should have good ventilation.

Substrate formulation

Regarding the formulation of the substrate, since G. lucidum is a lignin degrader, which causes white rot on logs, hard woods and woody tissues such as sawdust turn out to be a good natural substrate.

On the other hand, the thiamine content and a low sugar content (1% sucrose) are required to trigger the formation and activation of enzymes that break down lignin.

Likewise, calcium seems to encourage mushroom differentiation, while the water content in the substrate prevents gas exchange and therefore lowers the oxygen content.

The presence of wood chips should be avoided as they can break the bag and encourage the entry of contamination.

Commercialization

The simplest form is pulverized fruiting bodies that are then processed as capsules or tablets.

Another form of production is the preparation of materials extracted with hot water or ethanol from the fruiting bodies or mycelia harvested from submerged liquid cultures, which are then evaporated and tabulated; These extracted materials are also encapsulated and distributed.

Health benefits

Ganoderma lucidum is used for the treatment of various health conditions, its use being known as an antitumor, immunomodulator, cardiovascular, respiratory, antihepatotoxic or for the treatment of diseases of the central nervous system.

Reishi in Chinese medicines. Angela Schmeidel Randall from Houston, Tx, USA

Modern uses of Ganoderma therefore include the treatment of coronary heart disease, arteriosclerosis, hepatitis, arthritis, nephritis, bronchitis, asthma, hypertension, cancer, and gastric ulcer. In addition, its recent use has been reported as a potential treatment for viruses, especially against HIV.

The medicinal effects of this fungus are produced by the diversity of chemical compounds that it produces such as: triterpenoids, polysaccharides, proteins, amino acids, nucleosides, alkaloids, steroids, lactones, fatty acids and enzymes.

In relation to the pharmacological effects of this fungus, they can be separated into:

Triterpenoid effects

Aimed at its use as anti-tumor, anti-angiogenic, antihypertensive, hypocholesterol, antihistamine and complementary inhibition of the immune system.

Polysaccharide effects

They are used for antitumor treatment through immunomodulation, through antiangiogenesis, and cellular protection from free radicals and peroxidation.

Side effects

Consumption of the Ganoderma lucidum mushroom has also shown some side effects. Among them are known abdominal discomfort, dizziness, dry mouth and even nasal bleeding.

On the other hand, as reishi lowers blood pressure, patients who are taking medications to control blood pressure or anticoagulants should avoid their consumption.

Ganoderma lucidum. Аимаина хикари

In addition, its consumption can cause dryness in the throat and the nose area, as well as itching in the mentioned areas.

As a precaution, it should not be consumed during pregnancy or lactation due to the lack of information on the safety of consuming this mushroom during this period.

References

1. Goyal, A., Kalia, A. 2018. Pharmaceutic Prodigy of Ergosterol and Protein Profile of Ganoderma lucidum. In: Biology of Macrofungi, BP Singh et al. (eds). Springer Nature Switzerland. P. 227-239. Taken from: books.google.co.ve
2. Boh, B., Berovic, M., Zhang, J., Zhi-Bin, L. 2007. Ganoderma lucidum and its pharmaceutically active compounds. Biotechnology annual review. 13: 265-301.
3. Moreno, H., Martínez, A., Fujimoto, Y. 2011. Isolation and identification of two sterols and a triterpenoid from the fruiting body of Ganoderma lucidum grown in Colombia. Vitae, Journal of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Chemistry 18 (1): 11-15.
4. Fungipedia Mycological Association. 2019. Catalog of Mushrooms and Fungi: Ganoderma lucidum. Taken from: fungipedia.org
5. Tropics. 2019. Ganoderma lucidum (Curtis) P. Karst. taken from: tropicos.org
6. Catalog of Life. 2019. Species details: Ganoderma lucidum (Curtis) P. Karst., 1881. Taken from: catalogueoflife.org
7. Superfoods. 2019. Reishi. taken from: superfoods.es
8. Ganoderma lucidum benefits and properties. 2012. Taken from: sites.google.com