ABSTRACT
Ganoderma lucidum (Curt.: Fr.) P. Karst. (Lingzhi in Chinese; Reishi, Mannentake, or Sachitake in Japanese; and Youngzi in Korean) is a species of the class Basidiomycetes, which belongs to the family Polyporaceae (or Ganodermataceae) of the order Aphyllophorales. Commonly known as a wood-decaying fungus, it causes white rot of a wide variety of trees and can thus be described as a phytopathogenic fungus. Because of its perceived health benefits, its fruiting body has gained wide popularity in recent years as a dietary supplement, not only in China and Japan, but also in North America and other parts of the world. The reason it attracts international attention as a valuable Chinese herb is due to the wide variety of its biological activities, such as antitumor, immunomodulatory, cardiovascular, respiratory, antihepatotoxic, and antinociceptive (acting against pain) effects. The diversity in the biological actions of Lingzhi may be attributed to the fact that it is composed of different chemical entities, including alkaloids, amino acids and peptides, inorganic elements, steroids, and fatty and organic acids. The major compounds with significant pharmacological activities appear to be triterpenes and polysaccharides. It is interesting that during the last three decades, more than 150 triterpenes 26 and more than 50 carcinostatic polysaccharides 24 have been isolated and are known to be unique compounds in this mushroom. Therefore, G. lucidum products with different triterpenes and polysaccharides or combinations of these two groups are most likely to result in different pharmacological activities. 38
