Loading
Lion's mane is an edible mushroom sold in capsules for memory, mood and immunity. A few small studies in older adults report better memory or mood, but there are no studies showing it has any effect on cancer in people.
Lion's mane grows on dead hardwood and is eaten in East Asian cuisine; supplements are promoted for cognitive health and immunity, and it is often marketed to people with cancer alongside other medicinal mushrooms. Memorial Sloan Kettering's About Herbs summary reports limited clinical data suggesting improved memory or mood in overweight adults, older adults, mild cognitive impairment, mild Alzheimer's disease and menopausal women, with no effect on cognition in another study. It showed antiproliferative and antimetastatic activity in laboratory and animal models, but MSK states that there are no studies in humans showing anticancer effects. Side effects in a clinical study were abdominal discomfort, nausea and skin rash. As a food it is harmless; as a supplement it has not been tested for chemotherapy-related cognitive problems, the use most often suggested to people with cancer.
Hericenones and erinacines stimulate nerve growth factor production in laboratory studies, the basis of the memory claims; polysaccharides have immune effects in animals.
Query for this technology: (TITLE:"Lion's mane mushroom" OR ABSTRACT:"Lion's mane mushroom" OR TITLE:"Hericium erinaceus" OR ABSTRACT:"Hericium erinaceus" OR TITLE:"Yamabushitake" OR ABSTRACT:"Yamabushitake" OR TITLE:"Hou tou gu" OR ABSTRACT:"Hou tou gu") AND (cancer OR tumor OR tumour OR oncology OR carcinoma OR lymphoma OR leukemia OR leukaemia OR myeloma OR sarcoma OR melanoma OR glioma). Results are unfiltered search hits about Lion's mane mushroom, not a curated reading list.
Shares Medicinal mushrooms: reishi, turkey tail, shiitake and others, Evidence-based integrative oncology, Misinformation and unproven therapies and the tags complementary, supportive-care.
Shares Medicinal mushrooms: reishi, turkey tail, shiitake and others, Evidence-based integrative oncology, Misinformation and unproven therapies and the tags complementary, supportive-care.
Shares Ashwagandha, Evidence-based integrative oncology, Misinformation and unproven therapies and the tags complementary, supportive-care.
Shares Graviola (soursop), Misinformation and unproven therapies and the tags complementary, supportive-care.
Shares Medicinal mushrooms: reishi, turkey tail, shiitake and others, Evidence-based integrative oncology, Misinformation and unproven therapies and the tags complementary, supportive-care.
Shares Ashwagandha, Evidence-based integrative oncology and the tags complementary, supportive-care.
Shares Thinking and memory after cancer treatment: what is measurable, and what helps, Evidence-based integrative oncology and the tags complementary, supportive-care.
Shares Medicinal mushrooms: reishi, turkey tail, shiitake and others, Evidence-based integrative oncology and the tags complementary, supportive-care.
Every source this page cites, grouped by who published it. Grouping is read from the web address, not assigned by hand.
A source that has moved or gone is reported by the weekly link check. /audit/