The 12th Medicinal Fungi Academic Seminar will be held in Fuzhou, Fujian from October 20th to 22nd. The "new national standard" for Ganoderma spore powder, led by GanoHerb, will be officially released then.

 

Today, the variety of Ganoderma spore powder on the market is increasingly complex. The "sporoderm-breaking rate" has become one of the important factors that everyone considers when evaluating the quality of spore powder products. After all, a higher sporoderm-breaking rate means that the body’s absorption effect of the active ingredients of spore powder is better.

 

However, the "sporoderm-breaking method" of spores is often overlooked. Little do people know, different sporoderm-breaking processing methods can greatly affect the quality of the product!

 

 

1. With so many sporoderm-breaking methods for Ganoderma spores available, how do we determine which is superior and which is inferior?

 

Consumers familiar with spore powder know that Ganoderma spores have two hard chitin shells on the outside, which require the use of modern technology to break open. After the sporoderm of the spores is broken, the active ingredients of the spore powder are more easily absorbed by the human body.

 

Currently, the main methods of breaking the sporoderm of spores include chemical method, biological enzymolysis method, oscillation sporoderm-breaking method, and low-temperature physical grinding sporoderm-breaking method. Which one is superior and which one is inferior? Let's first understand what's different about each sporoderm-breaking method:

 

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Chemical Method

The Chemical Method generally involves the use of edible acids or alkalis and other chemical reagents to degrade the sporoderm of Ganoderma spores. This method of breaking the sporoderm has relatively low energy consumption and less equipment investment, but the rate of breaking the sporoderm is lower, and there may be problems with solvent residues.

 

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Biological Enzymolysis Method

The Biological Enzymolysis Method involves the addition of sporoderm-dissolving enzymes, including cellulase, chitinase, glucosidase, etc. Usually, a mixture of two or more enzymes is used to achieve better sporoderm-breaking effects.

 

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Oscillation Sporoderm-breaking Technology

The Oscillatory Sporoderm-breaking Technology involves the use of high-speed metal impact and grinding of spore powder to achieve the sporoderm-breaking effect. This method also has a relatively low sporoderm-breaking rate and carries the risk of heavy metal residues. Additionally, the metal rod generates high temperatures during the impact process, which can affect the active ingredients in Ganoderma, such as triterpenes and polysaccharides.

 

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Low-temperature Physical Grinding Sporoderm-Breaking Method

Low-temperature physical grinding is to use a machine to repeatedly grind the spores at a production temperature of no more than 10°C to achieve the sporoderm-breaking effect. The sporoderm-breaking rate can reach more than 99%, which can fully retain the active ingredients of Ganoderma lucidum spores, and there will be no heavy metal pollution during the sporoderm-breaking process.

 

2. Why does the "New National Standard" require the selection of "Low-Temperature Physical Sporoderm-Breaking" technology?

 

From the perspectives of sporoderm-breaking effects, the introduction of heavy metals, and the difficulty of implementing the technology, the "Low-Temperature Physical Sporoderm-Breaking" technology is relatively more advantageous.

 

This is why the 2023 version of the national standard "Technical Specifications for Harvesting and Processing of Ganoderma Spore Powder" explicitly requires the selection of Low-Temperature Physical Sporoderm-Breaking technology. This includes using mechanical grinding, airflow pulverization, and other methods to break the sporoderms of sterilized Ganoderma spore. It emphasizes that metal impact should not be used for sporoderm-breaking to avoid the introduction of heavy metals. (Excerpt from National Standard GB/T 29344-2023)

 

The revision of this standard has raised requirements in aspects such as the harvesting, processing, and storage of spore powder. The release and implementation of the standard will help improve the quality assurance level of Ganoderma spore powder and promote the healthy development of the Ganoderma spore powder industry.

 

Next time when you purchase Ganoderma spore powder, in addition to checking the sporoderm-breaking rate, remember to ask about the wall-breaking method. For the things we consume, an extra piece of attentiveness brings an extra piece of mind.