10 replies to this topic

[ymc]

http://www.longecity...-to-nootropics/

The OP of this thread casually linked Lion's Mane to Nobel Prize.

The truth is that the 1986 Nobel Medicine Prize goes to the discovery of Nerve Growth Factor (NGF).

I couldn't find any article on PubMed that suggests Lion's Mane is an agent that can stimulate NGF. I don't understand the point of linking it to Nobel Prize at all.

Looks like the OP was full of hype but not much substance.

[MrSpud]

I did a quick search and found these references pretty quick.
Kawagishi, H. et al. Hericenones C, D, and E, stimulators of Nerve Growth Factor synthesis, from the mushroom Hericium erinaceum. Tetrahedron Lett. 1991; 32, 4361-4564.

Kawagishi, H. et al. Chromans, Hericenones F, G, and H from the mushroom Hericium erinaceum. Phytochemistry. 1993; 32, 175-178.

[ymc]

I did a quick search and found these references pretty quick.
Kawagishi, H. et al. Hericenones C, D, and E, stimulators of Nerve Growth Factor synthesis, from the mushroom Hericium erinaceum. Tetrahedron Lett. 1991; 32, 4361-4564.

Kawagishi, H. et al. Chromans, Hericenones F, G, and H from the mushroom Hericium erinaceum. Phytochemistry. 1993; 32, 175-178.

Thanks for pointing out. I find 32 papers using the scientific name "Hericium erinaceum" but it doesn't show the papers you mentioned. None of the 32 papers is about NGF.

Still, I wouldn't link it to Nobel Prize even if it does stimulate NGF.

[ymc]

I find another 36 papers using the scientific name "Hericium erinaceus" but again it doesn't show the papers you mentioned. Two of the 36 papers are about NGF but as wikipedia points out those two studies have conflict of interests and no one else seems to bother replicating their results.

[Ichoose2live]

http://www.jstage.js...1_1727/_article


Neurotrophic factors are essential to maintain and organize neurons functionally; thereby neurotrophic factor-like substances or their inducers are expected to be applied to the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease. In the present study, we firstly examined the effects of ethanol extracts of four edible mushrooms, Hericium erinaceus (Yamabushitake), Pleurotus eryngii (Eringi), Grifola frondosa (Maitake), and Agaricus blazei (Himematsutake), on nerve growth factor (NGF) gene expression in 1321N1 human astrocytoma cells. Among the four mushroom extracts, only H. erinaceus extract promoted NGF mRNA expression in a concentration-dependent manner. In addition, secretion of NGF protein from 1321N1 cells was enhanced by H. erinaceus extracts, and the conditioned medium of 1321N1 cells incubated with H. erinaceus extract enhanced the neurite outgrowth of PC12 cells. However, hericenones C, D and E, constituents of H. erinaceus, failed to promote NGF gene expression in 1321N1 cells. The enhancement of NGF gene expression by H. erinaceus extracts was inhibited by the c-jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) inhibitor SP600125. In addition, H. erinaceus extracts induced phosphorylation of JNK and its downstream substrate c-Jun, and increased c-fos expression, suggesting that H. erinaceus promotes NGF gene expression via JNK signaling. Furthermore we examined the efficacy of H. erinaceus in vivo. ddY mice given feed containing 5% H. erinaceus dry powder for 7 d showed an increase in the level of NGF mRNA expression in the hippocampus. In conclusion, H. erinaceus contains active compounds that stimulate NGF synthesis via activation of the JNK pathway; these compounds are not hericenones.

Ethanol extract.


Phytother Res. 2009 Mar;23(3):367-72.
Improving effects of the mushroom Yamabushitake (Hericium erinaceus) on mild cognitive impairment: a double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial.
Mori K, Inatomi S, Ouchi K, Azumi Y, Tuchida T.
Source
Mushroom Laboratory, Hokuto Corporation, 800-8, Shimokomazawa, Nagano, 381-0008, Japan. morikou@mail2.pharm.tohoku.ac.jp


Abstract
A double-blind, parallel-group, placebo-controlled trial was performed on 50- to 80-year-old Japanese men and women diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment in order to examine the efficacy of oral administration of Yamabushitake (Hericium erinaceus), an edible mushroom, for improving cognitive impairment, using a cognitive function scale based on the Revised Hasegawa Dementia Scale (HDS-R). After 2 weeks of preliminary examination, 30 subjects were randomized into two 15-person groups, one of which was given Yamabushitake and the other given a placebo. The subjects of the Yamabushitake group took four 250 mg tablets containing 96% of Yamabushitake dry powder three times a day for 16 weeks. After termination of the intake, the subjects were observed for the next 4 weeks. At weeks 8, 12 and 16 of the trial, the Yamabushitake group showed significantly increased scores on the cognitive function scale compared with the placebo group. The Yamabushitake group's scores increased with the duration of intake, but at week 4 after the termination of the 16 weeks intake, the scores decreased significantly. Laboratory tests showed no adverse effect of Yamabushitake. The results obtained in this study suggest that Yamabushitake is effective in improving mild cognitive impairment.

PMID:18844328http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18844328


The mushroom contains heavy metals.

Assessment of heavy metals in some wild edible mushrooms collected from Yunnan Province, China.
http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/20976551

Edited by Ichoose2live, 05 August 2011 - 04:52 AM.

[gamesguru]

That's funny about the heavy metals. Mercury causes rapid destructralization of dendrites and axons, while NGF promotes these. We could therefore only verify neurogenic properties of these mushrooms by isolating the compounds apparently responsible for psychoactive pathology and testing them in a pure form.

[ymc]

That's funny about the heavy metals. Mercury causes rapid destructralization of dendrites and axons, while NGF promotes these. We could therefore only verify neurogenic properties of these mushrooms by isolating the compounds apparently responsible for psychoactive pathology and testing them in a pure form.

What is the active ingredient inside Lion's Mane? Anyone knows?

[hav]

Here's another one:

Nerve growth factor-inducing activity of Hericium erinaceus in 1321N1 human astrocytoma cells.
Mori K, Obara Y, Hirota M, Azumi Y, Kinugasa S, Inatomi S, Nakahata N.
Source

Department of Cellular Signaling, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tohoku University, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Japan.
Abstract

Neurotrophic factors are essential to maintain and organize neurons functionally; thereby neurotrophic factor-like substances or their inducers are expected to be applied to the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease. In the present study, we firstly examined the effects of ethanol extracts of four edible mushrooms, Hericium erinaceus (Yamabushitake), Pleurotus eryngii (Eringi), Grifola frondosa (Maitake), and Agaricus blazei (Himematsutake), on nerve growth factor (NGF) gene expression in 1321N1 human astrocytoma cells. Among the four mushroom extracts, only H. erinaceus extract promoted NGF mRNA expression in a concentration-dependent manner. In addition, secretion of NGF protein from 1321N1 cells was enhanced by H. erinaceus extracts, and the conditioned medium of 1321N1 cells incubated with H. erinaceus extract enhanced the neurite outgrowth of PC12 cells. However, hericenones C, D and E, constituents of H. erinaceus, failed to promote NGF gene expression in 1321N1 cells. The enhancement of NGF gene expression by H. erinaceus extracts was inhibited by the c-jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) inhibitor SP600125. In addition, H. erinaceus extracts induced phosphorylation of JNK and its downstream substrate c-Jun, and increased c-fos expression, suggesting that H. erinaceus promotes NGF gene expression via JNK signaling. Furthermore we examined the efficacy of H. erinaceus in vivo. ddY mice given feed containing 5% H. erinaceus dry powder for 7 d showed an increase in the level of NGF mRNA expression in the hippocampus. In conclusion, H. erinaceus contains active compounds that stimulate NGF synthesis via activation of the JNK pathway; these compounds are not hericenones.

PMID: 18758067

The full text pdf goes into more detail but doesn't seem to nail down one active ingredient. It does identify the group as erinacines and mentions research with one of them, "erinacine A." It also seems to rule out another class of compounds called hericenones.

Howard

[jven014]

I've taken fungi perfecti for about 4 months and did not notice any sort.of cognitive improvement

[gamesguru]

What are the effects of higher NGF?

[Logic]

What are the effects of higher NGF?

http://www.longecity...er/#entry529885