On a trip to Ann Arbor for a checkup, I was reminded of how truly grand medicine is in this country. I entered the lobby of the U of M Medical Center, where a glass conservatory roof topped the lofty three-story atrium, filled with semi-tropical plants and tastefully arranged plush chairs. Very impressive, expensive, and completely irrelevant to the task at hand: health care. This is not to say that American medicine hasn’t accomplished technological wonders—it has. But it does seem to emphasize the razzle-dazzle and costly treatments after the fact, rather than prevention, particularly of diseases that result from our inability to adapt to a deteriorating environment, like cancer.
The Hemlock varnish shelf, Ganoderma tsugae. Ganoderma lucidum looks identical but grows on hardwoods.
Chinese traditional medicine, on the other hand, while it would benefit from strict scientific evaluation, contains the highly useful concept of “BRMs”— biological response modifiers — substances that enhance the human immune system, enabling it to better respond to environmental stresses.
Beginning over 3,000 years ago, traditional Chinese medicine has been based, in part, upon some very unlikely beliefs, like the virtues of consuming remotely phallic-shaped animal parts like rhinoceros horn for their supposed aphrodisiac qualities, resulting in the near extinction of at least one species of rhinoceros. However, the Chinese endless exploration of the medicinal properties of natural materials has led them to discover the uses of some plants and fungi that are proving to be effective in promoting wellness, even by Western medical standards.
One of the most promising substances is found in a fungus: the species of Ganoderma (ling chih, the “divine mushroom of immortality”), also known as “reichi” in Japan. Though considered rare in China, several species of Ganoderma are abundant in Michigan. So what are we waiting for?
The Ganoderma are woody polypores, that is, shelf mushrooms that grow from trees and stumps, with caps the under-surface of which are dotted with thousands of tiny pores in which spores are produced. Three species are common in Michigan: Ganoderma applanatum, the “Artist’s Conk,” so-called because the white pore surface bruises easily and retains marks or drawings you make on it (you can occasionally find these artworks in local craft shows in the north); Ganoderma tsugae, the “hemlock varnish shelf,” with a beautiful mahogany-colored, shiny, varnished-appearing surface; and Ganoderma lucidum, similar to G. tsugae, except that it grows on hardwoods rather than on hemlock. The species lucidum and tsugae are the two that seem to have immune-enhancing properties.
The medicinal claims for Ganoderma are incredibly wide-ranging. It is said to be a cure or aid in treating altitude sickness, dizziness, neurasthenia, coughs, hepatitis, diabetes, high blood pressure, immune weakness, bronchial inflammation, arrhythmia, insomnia, rhinitis, allergies, nervousness, ulcers, cancer and chronic fatigue syndrome. It is taken in the form of tea or infused in wine for several months to create an elixir or tonic.
We can only evaluate reports on Ganoderma in terms of the presumed credibility of the researchers. Dr. Raymond Y. Chang, a professor and researcher at Cornell, says that “indications for Ganoderma use in cancer treatment include 1) to reduce side-effects during chemotherapy or radiotherapy, 2) to prolong survival and minimize metastasis [spreading], 3) to improve quality of life, and 4) to prevent occurrence or recurrence of cancer. Although the cure of any cancer with Ganoderma alone is unlikely, it is probably beneficial under defined circumstances in most cases of malignancy.”
Respected scientists in Japan, China and the U.S. have shown that an extract from Ganoderma inhibits the growth of cancer in laboratory mice. Some studies indicate that Ganoderma stimulates interferon production, and accelerates the production of helper T-cells important in fighting cancer. Other studies suggest its effectiveness in reducing fatigue and lowering blood pressure. Many of the reported benefits of Ganoderma, however, are inferred from the effectiveness of similar chemicals found in other, more well-studied fungi, like shitake.
Hundreds of studies of the potential health benefits of Ganoderma and other fungi are currently underway, and the results should give us a better idea of their medicinal value. In the meantime, these fungi are becoming extremely popular among people seeking alternatives to high-tech medicine. As a result, an incredible international demand is growing for Ganoderma, which is easily found growing wild in our area.
China currently raises about 4,000 tons of Ganoderma each year, much of it for export to the U.S. and Japan. Malaysia is building a Ganoderma industry, with production (the fungi are grown in sawdust) of about 300 tons annually, which is about the equivalent of Japan’s output. Other commercial growers are in the U.S., Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. Michigan’s Ganoderma can be considered to be superior to these sources first of all because the wild forms are more highly valued, which suggests a market for these fungi gathered here from the wild.
Secondly, because fungi from China (and other parts of Southeast Asia) may be contaminated with heavy metals, possibly negating their health-promoting effects.
Research is ongoing, and much remains to be learned, but isn’t it sort of magical to know that the ancient and rare Chinese “mushroom of immortality” grows wild throughout our northern woodlands? What if it works?
