Scientifically proven: A Ganoderma lucidum spore oil with multiple anti-tumor effects plus dual liver-protecting benefits.

Lingzhi spore oil refers to lipids contained within Lingzhi spores that possess bioactive properties. It has been shown to enhance immune function, exert inhibitory effects on a variety of tumors, and help alleviate both chemical- and alcohol-induced liver damage.

 

Reishi spore oil, which boasts a high degree of food safety, is an excellent choice for daily health maintenance. However, not all products labeled as “Reishi spore oil” contain the same levels of active ingredients. This is precisely why, even when taking “one capsule,” the efficacy can vary significantly.

 

Lingzhi spore oil exhibits multiple anti-tumor effects.

 

 

In 2016, a research team led by Dean Xie Jianhua from the School of Pharmacy at Fujian Medical University, in collaboration with scholars from the University of Arizona in the United States, published a study in the oncology journal Oncology Letters that confirmed that ganoderma spore oil not only inhibits the growth of various cancer cells but also helps maintain body weight and boosts immune function in tumor-bearing mice.

 

(1) Ganoderma lucidum spore oil inhibits the proliferation of cancer cells.

 

When human chronic myelogenous leukemia cell lines, human promyelocytic leukemia cell lines, and human gastric cancer cell lines are cultured together with different doses of Ganoderma spore oil, after 24 hours, it is observed that the higher the dose of spore oil, the fewer cancer cells survive, indicating that spore oil exerts a significant inhibitory effect on cancer cells.

 

Further analysis of the study revealed that spore oil can directly regulate a protein molecule called Cyclin D1 within cancer cells, thereby inhibiting its activity. Since Cyclin D1 is one of the key drivers behind the uncontrolled proliferation of cancer cells—from one cell to two, then from two to four, and so on—without its function, the rate of cancer cell proliferation naturally slows down.

  

The Inhibitory Effect of Ganoderma Lucidum Spore Oil on Three Cancer Cell Lines

Note: Inhibition rate (%) = (Number of cancer cells surviving in the Ganoderma lucidum group / Number of cancer cells surviving in the control group) × 100. (Source: Oncol Lett. 2016;12(5):3571-3578.)

 

(2) Ganoderma lucidum spore oil inhibits tumor growth.

 

Further investigation into the anti-tumor effects of Ganoderma lucidum spore oil in vivo: First, mice were inoculated with either a sarcoma cell line (S180) or a hepatocellular carcinoma cell line (H22). One day later, the mice were fed Ganoderma lucidum spore oil at a dose of 1.2 g/kg daily for 10 consecutive days. As a result, the weights of the sarcomas and liver tumors were reduced by 30.9% and 44.9%, respectively, compared to those in the untreated control group.

 

  Tumor weight in mice after 10 days of treatment

(Source: Oncol Lett. 2016;12(5):3571-3578.)

 

(3) Ganoderma lucidum spore oil helps maintain body weight.

 

Although ganoderma spore oil is somewhat less effective than the chemotherapy drug 5-FU in terms of tumor suppression—achieving an inhibition rate of only 50% to 60%—it does not have the same negative impact on body weight as chemotherapy drugs do.

The figure below shows the body weights of mice in each group at the end of the experiment, after subtracting the tumor weights. The body weight of the Ganoderma spore oil group was very similar to that of the control group, whereas the body weight of the chemotherapy group was significantly reduced.

 

 

The mice’s body weight after tumor removal at the end of the experiment.

(Source: Oncol Lett. 2016;12(5):3571-3578.)

 

(4) Ganoderma lucidum spore oil protects the immune system.

 

In addition, the researchers evaluated the immune status of tumor-bearing mice using the “spleen index” and the “thymus index.”

 

The spleen is the primary habitat of lymphocytes (including T cells, B cells, and natural killer cells), while the thymus is the site where T cells mature and develop. Therefore, higher or lower spleen and thymus indices reflect the strength or weakness of immune function.

The results showed that, in both sarcoma- and liver-cancer-bearing mice, the spleen and thymus indices in the spore oil group were significantly higher than those in the chemotherapy drug group—and even higher than those in the control group—indicating that spore oil has an immunostimulatory effect.

 

Immune indices of tumor-bearing mice after 10 days of treatment

(Source: Oncol Lett. 2016;12(5):3571-3578.)

 

Reishi spore oil provides dual liver protection.

 

Lingzhi spore oil not only exhibits anti-tumor effects but also protects the liver—indeed, it provides dual liver protection: it can alleviate chemically induced liver damage and, when used in combination with Lingzhi extract, can also reduce alcohol-induced liver damage.

 

(1) Ganoderma lucidum spore oil protects against chemically induced liver injury.

 

A research report jointly published in 2006 by Fujian GanoHerb Biotechnology Co., Ltd. and the Fujian Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Volume 29, Issue 3 of "Guangxi Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine" demonstrated that ganoderma spore oil can alleviate CCl. ₄ Acute liver injury induced by carbon tetrachloride.

 

Chemically toxic CCl ₄ It can damage liver cells, causing hepatitis and leading to the leakage of AST (aspartate aminotransferase) and ALT (alanine aminotransferase)—two enzymes found in liver cells—into the bloodstream. Therefore, the higher the levels of these two markers in the serum, the more severe the liver inflammation is. According to experimental results:

 

Mice were administered CCl3 by gavage. ₄ (In the liver injury model group) serum ALT subsequently approached 2,000, and AST exceeded 1,000. However, if mice are first fed Reishi spore oil at low, medium, or high doses (170, 330, or 1,000 mg/kg per day) for 30 consecutive days, and then administered CCl₄ by gavage between the last two feeding sessions, ... ₄ In that case, the serum ALT levels in mice were only 18–30% of those in the former group, and the AST levels were also only 28–52% of the former group.

 

That is to say, facing CCl ₄ Regarding the damage caused, ganoderma lucidum spore oil can block at least 50 to 80 percent of the harm. When the livers of mice were removed for histopathological examination, the results corroborated the liver function indicators: the livers of mice protected by spore oil showed significantly less damage from CCl₄. ₄ The extent of the injury is relatively mild, and there are relatively few necrotic and diseased cells.

 

Protective Effects of Ganoderma Lucidum Spore Oil on Acute Chemical-Induced Liver Injury

Note: “#” indicates a significant difference compared to the control group, p < 0.01; “*” and “**” indicate differences compared to CCl. ₄ The model group showed significant differences, and its... p Values are less than 0.05 and less than 0.01, respectively. p The smaller the value, the greater the difference. (Source: Guangxi Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 2006; 29(3):50-51.)

 

(2) "Ganoderma lucidum spore oil + extract" against alcoholic liver injury

 

A report jointly published in 2016 by Fujian GanoHerb Biotechnology Co., Ltd., the National-Local Joint Engineering Research Center for Cultivation and Deep Processing of Medicinal Mushrooms, and the Fujian Provincial Center for Disease Prevention and Control—in Volume 35, Issue 6 of "China Edible Fungi"—demonstrates that the combined use of ganoderma spore oil and ganoderma extract can reduce oxidative damage to the liver caused by alcohol and prevent the development of alcoholic fatty liver.

 

In this study, liver damage was induced in mice by administering 50% alcohol. As a result, mice that had been pre-treated for 30 days with a combination formulation of "Ganoderma spore oil plus Ganoderma extract" (at doses of 167, 333, or 1000 mg/kg per day) showed significantly lower levels of the lipid peroxidation marker MDA (malondialdehyde) in their livers compared to the "alcohol-only group," which received only alcohol without any prior treatment.

 

Since the liver antioxidant enzyme GSH content in the three groups of Ganoderma lucidum-treated mice was only slightly higher than that in the “alcohol group,” it suggests that Ganoderma lucidum spore oil and extracts, in addition to preventing alcoholic liver injury by “enhancing the liver’s antioxidant capacity,” may also have other mechanisms of action.

 

Ganoderma spore oil + Ganoderma extract
Protective effects against alcohol-induced oxidative damage to the liver

  

Ganoderma spore oil + Ganoderma extract
The effect of enhancing the liver's antioxidant capacity

 

(3) “Ganoderma lucidum spore oil + extract” against alcoholic fatty liver

 

The study also evaluated alcohol-induced hepatic steatosis. The results showed that in mice fed the combination formulation of "Ganoderma spore oil + Ganoderma extract" prior to alcohol administration, regardless of the dose of Ganoderma consumed, triglyceride levels in the liver were significantly lower, and the distribution and area of lipid droplets were also markedly reduced. With less fat accumulation, the likelihood of liver inflammation was correspondingly decreased.

 

Ganoderma spore oil + Ganoderma extract
Inhibitory effect on hepatic triglyceride content

  

Ganoderma spore oil + Ganoderma extract
The impact on the area of fat distribution in the liver

 

Reishi spore oil
Highly safe for consumption

 

As a health supplement, safety is even more important than efficacy.

 

In the above experiment, all mice that were fed Ganoderma lucidum spore oil, or Ganoderma lucidum spore oil in combination with Ganoderma lucidum—regardless of whether they received low, medium, or high doses—showed no significant difference in body weight compared to normal mice, indicating that Ganoderma lucidum spore oil does not affect growth.

 

To further confirm the safety of ganoderma spore oil, scientists also conducted “acute toxicity” and “mutagenicity” experiments using an additional 130 mice.

 

The results showed that even when administered continuously for 14 days at a dose as high as 20 g/kg—20 times the high dose used in the aforementioned animal experiments—the spore oil did not induce mutations in bone marrow cells or sperm, nor did it cause toxicity or death in mice. This indicates that Ganoderma lucidum spore oil is indeed suitable for daily health maintenance. This research finding was published in 2006 in Volume 4, Issue 4 of "Central South Pharmacy."

 

Spore oil extracted from different raw materials
The active ingredient content varies significantly.

 

The ganoderma spore oil and the compound preparation of "ganoderma spore oil + ganoderma extract" used in the above experiments were provided by Fujian GanoHerb Biotechnology Co., Ltd. and GanoHerb Technology (Fujian) Co., Ltd.

 

The master’s thesis “Study on the Chemical Composition and Antitumor Activity of Ganoderma Spore Oil,” supervised by Professor Wang Yong from the School of Chinese Materia Medica at Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine in 2014 and published by Yu Su, points out that the unsaponifiable fraction UMGSO (mainly composed of steroidal compounds) in Ganoderma spore oil is an important source of its antitumor activity (as shown in the figure below). The Ganoderma spore oil raw material used in this study was provided by Fujian GanoHerb Biotechnology Co., Ltd.

 

 

The study used the same supercritical CO₂ conditions to analyze spore powder samples from 16 different geographic origins. ₂ The spore oil was extracted using extraction technology, and the analysis was conducted with “ergosterol-4,6,8(14),22-tetraen-3-one” (abbreviated as EG), the main component of UMGSO, as the indicator. The results revealed significant differences in EG content, with a maximum-to-minimum ratio of 34-fold.

It’s clear that the content of active ingredients in reishi spore oil is heavily influenced by the reishi variety, growing environment, and cultivation methods. Not all products labeled as “reishi spore oil” have the same levels of active ingredients. This is precisely why, even when using the same “one capsule,” the efficacy can vary significantly.

 

 

Choose the right Ganoderma lucidum spore oil.
Only then can you truly experience the effects.

 

In fact, not only do differences in raw materials affect the quality of spore oil; even different extraction techniques and manufacturing methods will result in different final products.

Want to give the aforementioned research findings a chance to “apply by analogy” to humans? Then you’ll first need to choose the right spore oil.

 

[References]

1. Chen C, et al. Antitumor effects and mechanisms of Ganoderma Extracts and spore oil. Oncol Lett. 2016;12(5):3571-3578.

2. Huang Zongxiu et al., Study on the Protective Effects of Ganoderma lucidum Spore Oil against Chemical-Induced Liver Injury. Guangxi Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 2006; 29(3):50-51.

3. Jin Lingyun et al., Protective Effects of a Composite Preparation Containing Ganoderma lucidum Spore Oil Extract on Alcohol-Induced Liver Injury. China Journal of Edible Mushrooms, 2016; 35(6): 34-37.

4. Lin Wei et al., Study on the Acute Toxicity and Mutagenicity of Ganoderma Spore Oil. Central South Pharmacy, 2006; 4(4): 264-267.

5. Yu Su, Study on the Chemical Composition and Antitumor Activity of Ganoderma lucidum Spore Oil. Master’s Thesis in Chinese Materia Medica, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 2014.

 

[About the Author / Wu Tingyao]

Having reported firsthand news about Lingzhi since 1999, he continues to do so to this day and is the author of “Lingzhi: Marvelous Beyond Words” (published by People’s Medical Publishing House in April 2017).

 

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