Lingzhi mushroom
-Comon names: Lingzhi mushroom,
-Scientific name: Ganoderma
lucidum (Curtis)
P. Karst.
Scientific classification
-Kingdom: Fungi.
-Phylum: Basidiomycota.
-Class: Agaricomycetes.
-Order: Polyporales.
-Family: Ganodermataceae.
-Genus:Ganoderma P. Karst.
-Species: Ganoderma lucidum
-The
neighbour species:G. applanatum, G. brownii, G. curtisii, G.
lobatum, G. multipileum, G. orbiforme, G.
philippii, G. pseudoferreum, G. tornatum, G. tsugae, G.
zonatum, G. boninense…
a-About Genus Ganoderma
+Ganoderma is a genus of polypore mushrooms
which grow on wood and include about 80 species, many from tropical regions.
Because of their extensive use in traditional
Asian medicines, and their potential in bioremediation, they are a very
important genus economically. Ganoderma can
be differentiated from other polypores because they have a double walled basidiospore.
They are popularly referred to as shelf mushrooms or bracket
mushrooms
Ganoderma are
characterized by basidiocarps that
are large, perennial, woody brackets, also called "conks". They are lignicolous, leathery,
and either with or without a stem. The fruit bodies typically grow in a fanlike
or hooflike form on the trunks of living or dead trees. They have
double-walled, truncate spores with
yellow to brown ornamented inner layers.
The name Ganoderma is
derived from the Greek ganos/γανος
"brightness, sheen", hence "shining" and derma/δερμα
"skin".
The genus was named by Karsten in
1881. Members of the family Ganodermataceae were traditionally considered
difficult to classify because of the lack of reliable morphological
characteristics, the overabundance of synonyms, and the widespread misuse of
names. Until recently, the genus was divided into two sections – Section
Ganoderma with a shiny cap surface (like Ganoderma lucidum) and
Elfvingia, with a dull cap surface, like Ganoderma applanatum.
Phylogenetic analysis using DNA sequence
information derived from mitochondrial SSU rDNA,
have helped to clarify our understanding of the relationships amongst Ganoderma species.The genus may now be divided
into six monophyletic groups:
-G. colossus group
-G. applanatum group
-G. tsugae group
-Asian G. lucidum group
-G. meredithiae group
-G. resinaceum group
In 1905, American mycologist William
Murrill delineated
the genus Tomophagus to
accommodate the single species G. colossus (then
known as Polyporus
colossus) which had distinctive morphological features that did not fit in
with the other species. Historically, however, Tomophagus has
generally been regarded as a synonym forGanoderma. Nearly a century
later, phylogenetic analyses vindicated Murrill's original placement, as it has
shown to be a taxonomically distinct appropriate genus.
Several species of Ganoderma have been used in traditional Asian
medicines (specifically in Korea ,
Japan and China
+Notable species:
-Ganoderma multipileum - the correct name for G. lucidum in tropical Asia
-Ganoderma philippii - A plant pathogen.
-Ganoderma pseudoferreum - Responsible for the root rot of cacao, coffee, rubber and tea
trees
-Ganoderma tsugae - A polypore which grows on conifers, especially hemlock; thus the common name, Hemlock varnish shelf. Similar in appearance to Ganoderma lucidum, which
typically grows onhardwoods.
+Industry: Ganoderma are wood-decaying fungi with a
cosmopolitan distribution, and can grow on both coniferous and hardwood
species. They are white-rot fungi, and have enzymes that allow them to break
down wood components such as lignin and cellulose.
There has been significant research interest in trying to harness the power of
these wood-degrading enzymes for industrial applications such as biopulping or bioremediation.
b- Lingzhi mushroom
+Some Asian countries’names
The lingzhi mushroom or reishi mushroom (traditional
Chinese: “pinyin”: língzhī; Japanese:
“ reishi”; Vietnamese: “linh chi”; literally: "supernatural
mushroom") encompasses several fungal species
of the genus Ganoderma,
and most commonly refers to the closely related species, Ganoderma
lucidum and Ganoderma
tsugae. G. lucidum enjoys
special veneration in East Asia , where it has been used as a medicinal
mushroom in traditional
Chinese medicine for
more than 2,000 years, making it one of the oldest mushrooms known to have been
used medicinally. Because of lingzhi's presumed health benefits and apparent
absence of side-effects, it has attained a reputation in the East as the
ultimate herbal substance. Lingzhi is listed in the American
Herbal Pharmacopoeia and Therapeutic Compendium.
+Taxonomy and names
Names for the lingzhi fungus have a two thousand
year history. The Chinese term “lingzhi”was first recorded in the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220
CE).
+Botanical names
The lingzhi's botanical names have Greek
and Latin roots. The generic
name Ganoderma derives
from the Greek ganos "brightness;
sheen", hence "shining" and derma "skin".The specific
epithet lucidum is Latin for
"shining" and tsugae for"hemlock"
(from Japanese Tsuga ).
There are multiple species of lingzhi,
scientifically known to be within the Ganoderma
lucidum species complex and
mycologists are still researching the differences among species within this
complex.
+English names
English lingzhi or ling
chih (sometimes
misspelled "ling chi" from French EFEO
Chinese transcription) is a Chinese loanword.
The Oxford English Dictionary gives
Chinese "líng divine + zhī fungus"
as the origin ofling chih or lingzhi, and defines, "The
fungus Ganoderma
lucidum, believed in China
Description
Lingzhi is a polypore mushroom
that is soft (when fresh), corky, and flat, with a conspicuous red-varnished,
kidney-shaped cap and, depending on specimen age, white to dull brown pores
underneath. It lack sgills on its underside and releases its spores through
fine pores, leading to its morphological classification
as a polypore.
Ganoderma lucidum generally occurs in two growth forms, one, found in North
America , is sessile and
rather large with only a small or no stalk, while the other is smaller and has
a long, narrow stalk, and is found mainly in the tropics. However, many growth
forms exist that are intermediate to the two types, or even exhibit very
unusual morphologies, raising the possibility that they are separate species.
Environmental conditions also play a substantial role in the different
morphological characteristics lingzhi can exhibit. For example, elevated carbon dioxide levels result in stem elongation in lingzhi. Other forms show
"antlers', without a cap and these may be affected by carbon dioxide
levels as well.
Biochemistry
Ganoderma lucidum produces a
group of triterpenes,
called ganoderic acids,
which have a molecular structure similar to steroid hormones.
It also contains other compounds many of which are typically found in fungal
materials including polysaccharides such
as beta-glucan, coumarin,
mannitol,
and alkaloids.
Habitat
Ganoderma lucidum, and its close relative Ganoderma
tsugae, grow in the northern Eastern Hemlock forests.
These two species of bracket fungus have
a worldwide distribution in both tropical and temperate geographical regions,
including North and South America, Africa, Europe, and Asia, growing as a parasite or saprotroph on a
wide variety of trees. Similar
species of Ganoderma have
been found growing in the Amazon. In
nature, Lingzhi grows at the base and stumps of deciduous trees, especially
maple.Only
two or three out of 10,000 such aged trees will have Lingzhi growth, and
therefore its wild form is generally rare. Today, Lingzhi is effectively
cultivated both indoors under sterile conditions and outdoors on either logs or
woodchip beds.
History
The Chinese classics first
used zhi during
the Warring
States Period (475-221
BCE) and lingzhi during
the Han
Dynasty (206
BCE-220 CE).
The word lingzhi was
first recorded in a fu "rhapsody; prose-poem" by the Han dynasty polymath Zhang Heng (CE
78–139).
The (ca. 1st-2nd century CE) Shennong bencao jing "Divine
Farmer's Classic of Pharmaceutics" classifies zhi into
six color categories, each of which is believed to benefit the qi "life
force" in a different part of the body:
- qingzhi "green
mushroom" for liver,
-chizhi "red
mushroom" for heart,
-huangzhi "yellow
mushroom" for spleen,
-baizhi "white
mushroom" for lung,
-heizhi "black mushroom" for kidney,
-and zizhi "purple
mushroom" for essence. Commentators identify this red chizhi (or danzhi "cinnabar
mushroom") as the lingzhi.
Chinese pharmaceutical handbooks on zhi mushrooms
were the first illustrated publications in the history of mycology.
The historian of Chinese science Joseph Needham discussed
a no-longer extant Liang Dynasty (502-587)
illustrated text called Zhong Shenzhi "On
the Planting and Cultivation of Magic Mushrooms".
The (1444) Ming Dynasty edition Daozang "Daoist
canon" contains the Taishang lingbao zhicao pin "Classifications
of the Most High Divine Treasure Mushroom Plant", which
categorizes 127 varieties of zhi. A (1598) Ming
reprint includes woodblock pictures.
In Chinese art, the lingzhi symbolizes
good health and long life, as depicted in the imperial Forbidden
City and Summer Palace China
Research and therapeutic usage
Lingzhi may possess anti-tumor, immunomodulatory and immunotherapeutic activities,
supported by studies on polysaccharides, terpenes,
and other bioactive
compounds isolated
from fruiting bodies and myceliaof
this fungus (reviewed by R. R. Paterson and Lindequist et al.). It
has also been found to inhibit platelet aggregation,
and to lower blood pressure (via inhibition of angiotensin-converting enzyme), cholesterol,
and blood sugar.
Laboratory studies have shown anti-neoplastic effects
of fungal extracts or isolated compounds against some types of cancer, including
epithelial ovarian cancer. In an animal model, Ganoderma has
been reported to prevent cancer metastasis, with potency comparable to Lentinan
from Shiitake mushrooms.
The mechanisms by which G.
lucidum may
affect cancer are unknown and they may target different stages of cancer
development: inhibition of angiogenesis (formation
of new, tumor-induced blood vessels, created to supply nutrients to the tumor)
mediated by cytokines, cytoxicity,
inhibiting migration of the cancer cells and metastasis,
and inducing and enhancing apoptosis of tumor cells. Nevertheless, G.
lucidumextracts are already used in commercial pharmaceuticals such as MC-S for suppressing cancer cell
proliferation and migration.
Additional studies indicate that ganoderic acid has
some protective effects against liver injury by viruses and other toxic agents
in mice, suggesting a potential benefit of this compound in the treatment of liver diseases in
humans, and Ganoderma-derived sterols inhibit lanosterol 14α-demethylase activity
in the biosynthesis of cholesterol. Ganoderma compounds
inhibit 5-alpha
reductase activity
in the biosynthesis of dihydrotestosterone.
Besides effects on mammalian physiology, Ganoderma is
reported to have anti-bacterial and anti-viral activities. Ganoderma is
reported to exhibit direct anti-viral with the following viruses; HSV-1, HSV-2, influenza virus, vesicular stomatitis. Ganoderma mushrooms
are reported to exhibit direct anti-microbial properties
with the following organisms; Aspergillus
niger, Bacillus cereus, Candida albicans,
and Escherichia coli.
References:
2-"The
pharmacological potential of mushrooms.". Lindequist, U.; Niedermeyer,
T.H.J. ; Jülich, W.D. (2005).
.jpg)
