The Anticancer and Immune-Enhancing Effects of Lion's Mane Mushroom (Hericium erinaceus)
Lion's Mane Mushroom, also called Houtou Jun, Hou Jun, small-spined Hericium, or hedgehog fungus, is the fruiting body of the fungi Hericium erinaceus and Hericium coralloides (family Hydnaceae), named for its resemblance to the head of a golden snub-nosed monkey and to a hedgehog.Lion's Mane is a medicinal and edible fungus. As early as the Three Kingdoms period, literature recorded the custom of Chinese people eating it. Shen Ying's "Lin Hai Shui Tu Yi Wu Zhi" (Records of Strange Things from Lin Hai) of the Three Kingdoms period states: "The people all love to eat Houtou stew." Here "Houtou stew" refers to soup made from Lion's Mane. Because of its delicious flavor, Houtou stew was even more popular than meat dishes. Lion's Mane thus has a long history of use as food in China.TCM also uses Lion's Mane medicinally. It is considered sweet in taste and neutral in nature, entering the Spleen and Stomach channels. It strengthens the spleen and nourishes the stomach, calms the spirit, and has anticancer effects. It treats debility and fatigue, indigestion, insomnia and excessive dreaming, gastric and duodenal ulcers, chronic gastritis, and digestive tract tumors.Lion's Mane may be decocted internally like other Chinese herbs or used as a medicinal food. For medicinal use, soak the dried fruiting body in water until soft, slice thinly, and decoct in water; use 50-100 g each time. Alternatively, soak 150 g of dried Lion's Mane until soft, slice thinly, and stew with chicken or pork ribs, then eat directly.Pharmacies also stock patent medicines made from Lion's Mane, such as Compound Houtou Capsules (granules/granula) and Houtou Jianwei Capsules. These are commonly used for gastric and duodenal ulcers, chronic gastritis, and chronic atrophic gastritis, improving symptoms such as epigastric pain, belching, and acid regurgitation.TCM also commonly uses Lion's Mane for digestive tract tumors such as esophageal, gastric, intestinal, and liver cancer. Modern pharmacological studies show that Lion's Mane has tumor-inhibiting effects. In male Swiss mice inoculated subcutaneously in the right foreaxilla with Sarcoma 180 cells, oral administration of Lion's Mane polysaccharide at 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg once daily for seven days showed that all three dose groups inhibited tumor growth and significantly activated natural killer (NK) cell activity.In addition, Lion's Mane can inhibit the hepatocarcinogenic effect of aflatoxin on experimental animals, so it may also prevent liver cancer formation and offers good protective value for hepatitis patients with cancer risk, such as those with hepatitis B or C.Lion's Mane polysaccharide also enhances immunity. In experimental mice with impaired immune function, injection of Lion's Mane polysaccharide together with thymosin significantly enhanced immunity, with a clearly greater effect than thymosin alone. Lion's Mane polysaccharide also markedly improved leukopenia caused by cyclophosphamide poisoning, raising white blood cell levels in chemotherapy patients. It also delays aging, increasing the specific activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) in mouse brain and liver, and lowers blood glucose.Thus for diabetic, cancer, and hepatitis patients, Lion's Mane is an ideal medicinal and edible food; we may use it as a daily edible mushroom. Lion's Mane is a safe edible fungus with tender flesh and a delicious taste; whether fresh or dried, it is an excellent ingredient. It may be stewed with chicken or pork bones. Cancer patients should eat more Lion's Mane during chemotherapy to help raise white blood cells and improve immunity.