Three Latest Studies on Ganoderma Lucidum’s Liver-Protecting Effects: Alleviating Fulminant Hepatitis and Liver Damage Induced by Formaldehyde and Carbon Tetrachloride

There are two main mechanisms underlying liver cell damage: excessive inflammatory responses and excessive oxidative stress. The former is primarily driven by immune cells, whose initial purpose is usually to “eliminate foreign invaders and protect the body’s home”; the latter is dominated by free radicals and often occurs during the liver’s metabolic processes involving the detoxification of harmful substances.

Whether the initial trigger is an inflammatory response or oxidative damage, these two processes will mutually reinforce each other—indeed, they may even fuel one another. The specific phenomenon that results from this interaction is that the number of liver cells dying or injured exceeds the body’s normal capacity for cell turnover and renewal. As a result, enzymes normally found within liver cells—such as AST and ALT—will leak into the bloodstream along with the damaged cells, causing the so-called hepatitis markers to rise.

The three newly published studies we’ve reviewed demonstrate that Lingzhi mushroom can exert a protective effect against liver damage, whether caused by excessive inflammation or oxidative stress.

I. The Protective Effect of Ganoderma Triterpenes on Acute Hepatitis

A study jointly published in the March 2020 issue of Cytokine by researchers from Inner Mongolia University, the Inner Mongolia Academy of Agricultural and Pastoral Sciences, and Toyama University in Japan found that the ethanol extract of Ganoderma lucidum, as well as its triterpene compound ganodermanontriol, can inhibit the inflammatory response induced by lipopolysaccharide (a major component of bacterial outer membranes, abbreviated as LPS) in vitro.

Ganoderic acid triol, which exhibits anti-inflammatory activity, was injected into mice at daily doses of 5, 10, and 25 mg/kg for seven consecutive days. Subsequently, the mice were challenged with a pharmacological agent (lipopolysaccharide plus D-galactosamine, LPS/D-GalN), which induces an acute hepatitis—specifically, the most severe form of acute hepatitis—similar to that observed in clinical settings. Liver damage in the mice was assessed six hours after the challenge.

As a result, compared to mice without Ganoderma protection:

① The levels of hepatitis markers AST (aspartate aminotransferase) and ALT (alanine aminotransferase) in the blood of mice in the Ganoderma lucidum group were significantly lower.

② The concentrations of the two major pro-inflammatory factors in the liver—TNF-α (tumor necrosis factor) and IL-6 (interleukin-6)—were significantly reduced.

③ Histological sections of mouse liver tissue reveal that, under the protection of ganoderic acid III, the degree of hepatocyte necrosis is significantly milder.

In summary: An overactive hepatitis B virus, excessive use of acetaminophen-based painkillers, excessive alcohol consumption, mushroom poisoning, and unverified folk remedies—all these factors can cause massive liver cell necrosis overnight, suddenly triggering acute hepatitis in a person who “seemed perfectly fine,” and even progressing to fulminant hepatitis.

If you further search online for information, you’ll find that even conditions that most people wouldn’t associate with each other—such as hyperthyroidism, heatstroke, gestational fatty liver, and certain uric acid-lowering drugs, tuberculosis medications, and antifungal agents—can all potentially serve as insidious triggering factors that are difficult to guard against.

How can we become “good people” from the inside out? “Enjoying Lingzhi mushrooms” seems like a worthwhile option to consider.

II. Ganoderma lucidum ethanol extract alleviates liver damage caused by methanol.

Formaldehyde is classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a subsidiary of the World Health Organization (WHO), as a Group 1 carcinogen—a substance with clear evidence of causing cancer in humans. Trace amounts of formaldehyde are quickly metabolized by the liver; however, excessive levels of formaldehyde can impose significant oxidative stress on the liver, leading to damage.

According to a study jointly published in the September 2020 issue of "Biology" by researchers from several institutions—including Egypt's Damanhour University, Nigeria's Precious Cornerstone University, Saudi Arabia's King Saud University, and Japan's Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine—rats exposed to an environment with a formaldehyde concentration of 40% and fed daily with an ethanol extract of Ganoderma lucidum (at a dose of 100 mg/kg per day for 30 consecutive days) showed significantly reduced levels of hepatocellular necrosis, markers of liver inflammation, and impaired liver function (such as diminished ability to regulate blood lipids and synthesize albumin) compared to rats that were exposed to the same amount of formaldehyde but did not receive the Ganoderma extract.

The study found that the ethanol extract of Ganoderma lucidum can reduce free radicals induced by formaldehyde, increase the activity or content of antioxidant enzymes in the liver, thereby decreasing the likelihood of liver cells being attacked by free radicals (resulting in reduced lipid peroxidation products). Additionally, it inhibits the initiation or propagation of inflammatory responses, thus effectively protecting the liver from formaldehyde-induced damage.

In summary: The pungent odor you notice right after a house has been freshly renovated is the smell of formaldehyde. Formaldehyde’s distinctive properties—being colorless, highly soluble, antimicrobial, insect-resistant, and bleaching—make it widely favored for various applications. It’s not only frequently added to building materials and paints but can also lurk in air fresheners, mosquito repellents, clothing marketed as wrinkle-free or stiffened, and even certain food ingredients that appear unusually white and fresh.

Whether inhaled through the nose, absorbed through the skin, or ingested orally, all these routes of exposure ultimately require metabolism by the liver. Although the government has imposed certain regulations on the use of formaldehyde, in real life there are still numerous potential scenarios where one might come into contact with high concentrations of formaldehyde. Given that you never know when you might encounter formaldehyde, why not take regular supplements of reishi mushroom just to be safe?

3. Ganoderma lucidum polysaccharides alleviate liver damage induced by carbon tetrachloride.

Not only do ganoderic triterpenes and ethanol extracts protect the liver; according to a study published in the December 2019 issue of Veterinary World by researchers from Airlangga University in Indonesia and Chulalongkorn University in Thailand, ganoderan polysaccharides can also prevent the occurrence of acute liver injury.

The researchers first fed mice either “crude polysaccharides extracted from Ganoderma lucidum fruiting bodies” (at daily doses of 50, 100, or 200 mg/kg) or “silymarin,” a traditional herbal medicine commonly used in clinical treatment for hepatitis (at a daily dose of 50 mg/kg). On the ninth day, they then injected carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) to induce acute liver injury. The results showed:

① Mice exposed to carbon tetrachloride without any protective measures (carbon tetrachloride group) showed a sharp increase in liver injury markers in their blood. In contrast, mice protected by crude polysaccharides from Ganoderma lucidum (Ganoderma groups at various doses) maintained levels comparable to those of normal mice (normal control group); indeed, their protective effect even surpassed that of silymarin.

② Carbon tetrachloride causes liver damage through oxidative reactions. As indicated by the levels of lipid peroxidation products measured in the livers of experimental mice (lower levels are better) and the concentrations of antioxidant enzymes (higher levels are better), Ganoderma lucidum crude polysaccharides can mitigate the oxidative damage to the liver induced by carbon tetrachloride. The protective effect is positively correlated with the dosage of Ganoderma lucidum crude polysaccharides.

③ Actual observation of the liver tissues from mice in each group also revealed that Ganoderma lucidum crude polysaccharides can mitigate the damage caused by carbon tetrachloride to hepatocytes (including necrosis, congestion, degeneration, and inflammation). In particular, the liver tissues from the high-dose group (200 mg/kg daily) were most similar to those from the normal control group.

Summary: The animal model of chemically induced liver injury caused by carbon tetrachloride is one of the commonly used scientific approaches for evaluating whether a substance has hepatoprotective effects. In the past, triterpenes from Ganoderma lucidum or its ethanol extracts were frequently found to be effective in such evaluation models; now, even when replaced with crude polysaccharides from Ganoderma lucidum, the results remain equally promising.

Only by regularly consuming Lingzhi can you maintain good health and longevity. So, which kind of Lingzhi should you choose? Of course, it’s the ethanol extract of Lingzhi, rich in triterpenoid compounds, combined with the crude polysaccharides found in Lingzhi’s water extract—having both together is truly the best!

[References]

1. Wang, X, et al. Protective effect of triterpenes of Ganoderma lucidum on lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammatory responses and acute liver injury. Cytokine. 2020 Mar;127:154917.

2. Adetuyi BO, et al. Ganoderma lucidum from Red Mushroom Alleviates Formaldehyde-Induced Liver Damage in an Experimental Male Rat Model. Biology (Basel). 2020 Oct; 9(10): 313.

3. Susilo RJK, et al. Hepatoprotective effect of crude polysaccharides extracted from Ganoderma lucidum against carbon tetrachloride-induced liver injury in mice. Vet World. Dec 2019; 12(12): 1987–1991.

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