History of Ganoderma

Ganoderma, also known as Reishi in Japan, Lingzhi in China and Youngzhi in Korea, have a history dating back over 4000 years when they were considered to be a ‘superior herb that improved health, resistance, longevity, energy and memory. Asian rulers would sent out envoys to seek out old plum trees and there, growing out of the trunk on three out of every ten thousand trees, was the ganoderma lucidum, the reishi mushroom. The Japanese gave it the name Reishi or Mannetake meaning ’10,000 year mushroom’ and in China and Korea it is known as Ling Chu or Ling Zhi, the ‘mushrooms of immortality’ and ‘the resurrection plant’.

Many cultures embraced Reishi’s benefits; the Romans considered mushrooms to be ‘the food of the Gods’, the Egyptians believed them to be ‘a gift from Osiris’ and the Chinese thought of them as ‘the elixir of life’.

In Chinese, they are called “ling-zhi.” Reishi is a large, dark, mushroom with a glossy exterior. Reishi differs from the supermarket varieties in that its texture is similar to wood. In traditional Chinese medicine, Reishi is in the most highly rated herb category in terms of multiple benefit and absence of side effects. It is the only known source of a group of triter penes known as ganoderic acids, which have a molecular structure similar to steroid hormones. It has the most active polysaccharides (long “chains” of sugars) among medicinal plant sources. Reishi also contains ergosterols, complete proteins, unsaturated fatty acids, vitamins and minerals.

Unlike green plants, which produce many of their own nutrients by photosynthesis, mushrooms primarily source their nutrients from dead organic matter or soil. Mushrooms and their mycelium are nature’s original recyclers. Without them, the Earths’ surface would be piled high with dead, decaying material. Mushrooms rise out of the mycelium when the right nutrients are amassed and the right environmental conditions are present. Mushrooms release spores at maturity. The wind spreads them and when they land in suitable locations, the cycle recommences.

The benefits of Reishi mushrooms have been recorded throughout time, appearing in written documents as far back as the Han Dynasty (206B.C. – 8 A.D.). In these documents Reishi was associated with happiness, a good future, good health, longevity and living among the immortals. Reishi was so entrenched as a panacea in ancient Chinese culture that it is the focus of a Chinese fairy tale, “The White Snake.” In this fairy tale the heroine, in an attempt to save her lover’s life, tries to steal a Reishi plant from the Gods.

The scientific community did not start to investigate the therapeutic properties of mushrooms until the late 1960s. One of the fundamental problems with Reishi research was that before the Japanese initiated commercial cultivation of the mushroom in the early 1970′s, there was not enough standardized Reishi to conduct experimental evaluation of the properties. Fortunately, scientific research has discovered plentiful health benefits that corroborate the centuries of intrigue by ancient Asian royalty.

In 1972, a Japanese researcher who pioneered the growing of Reishi demonstrated that by varying the conditions of growth, Reishi of 6 different colors can be grown from the same species.

• There are no comments yet...Kick things off by filling out the form below.