Mushrooms (2015-19) & Alzheimer's

Mushrooms have long been used not only as food but also for the treatment of various ailments. Studies have shown both within in vitro and mammal studies to have potential roles in the prevention of many age-associated neurological diseases including Alzheimer's,¹ including the following mushrooms:² lion's mane (Hericium erinaceus),³ reishi (Ganoderma lucidum),⁴ Sarcodon scabrosus, Antrodia camphorata, Pleurotus giganteus, maitake (Grifola frondosa), and many more. Reishi mushrooms help reduce inflammation. For example, the inhibition of COX-2 could relieve cerebral ischemic injury and slow down the progress of Alzheimer's disease or Parkinson's disease, has antioxidant effects, anti-neurodegenerative and anti-tumor benefits.^{5, 6}

Learn more about Medicinal Mushrooms in our nutrients section.

Research

1. Rahman MA, Abdullah N, Aminudin N. (2016). Interpretation of mushroom as a common therapeutic agent for Alzheimer's disease and cardiovascular diseases. Crit Rev Biotechnol. Dec;36(6):1131-1142.
2. Phan CW, David P, Naidu M, Wong KH, Sabaratnam V. (2015). Therapeutic potential of culinary-medicinal mushrooms for the management of neurodegenerative diseases: diversity, metabolite, and mechanism. Crit Rev Biotechnol. 2015;35(3):355-68.
3. Li IC, Lee LY, Tzeng TT, Chen WP, Chen YP, et al. (2018). Neurohealth Properties of Hericium eranceus Mycelia Enriched with Erinacines. Behav Neurol. May 21;2018:5802634.
4. Huang S, Mao J, Ding K, Zhou Y, Zeng X, et al. (2017). Polysaccharides from Ganoderma lucidum Promote Cognitive Function and Neural Progenitor Proliferation in Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease. Stem Cell Reports. Jan 10;8(1):84-94.
6. Baskaran A, Chua KH, Sabaratnam V, Ravishankar Ram M, Kuppusamy UR. (2017). Pleurotus giganteus (Berk. Karun & Hyde), the giant oyster mushroom inhibits NO production in PLS/H2O2 stimulated RAW 264.7 cells via STAT3 and COX-2 pathways. BMC Complement Altern Med. Jan 13;17(1):40.