In the well-known folklore "the legend of the White Snake", the white lady accidentally showed her original shape during the Dragon Boat Festival and scared Xu Xian to death. Therefore, the white lady risked stealing fairy grass from Kunlun mountain to save him. That kind of fairy grass is said to be called Ganoderma lucidum. It has been regarded as a relic of life in Taoism, and even as a relic of life in the Han Dynasty. But it is not considered a drug outside China. Why?
"Encounter" of Ganoderma lucidum in the United States
In the United States, Ganoderma lucidum is sold as a "dietary supplement" like vitamins, inorganic salts (such as calcium, magnesium, iron and other salts) and natural animal and plant extracts. For this kind of products, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not require producers to provide evidence of the effectiveness and safety of the products. The FDA will prohibit the sale of the products only when the products have caused harmful consequences. Accordingly, FDA does not allow such products to claim any efficacy, because drugs need scientific verification of effectiveness and safety before they are approved for marketing. If a manufacturer claims that its Ganoderma lucidum products "have passed FDA certification and are listed in the United States", it is completely fooling.
There are many companies selling Ganoderma lucidum or Ganoderma lucidum products in the United States, but if they publicize that the products have magical therapeutic effects, there is no doubt that they will be prosecuted by the FDA. For example, some companies publicize "accelerating disease recovery" and "enhancing the physique after radiotherapy and chemotherapy" in Ganoderma lucidum products, or "discovering hidden diseases", "removing excess cholesterol" and "removing toxins in the body", which have been notified by FDA that such words cannot be used. In 2008, a company claimed on its website that its Ganoderma lucidum products can cure cancer. It also received a warning letter from FDA, warning that this product has not been certified for safety and effectiveness. This kind of publicity behavior is seriously illegal. Later, the company deleted the relevant content on its website and publicized how successful this product is in China.
Ganoderma lucidum in scientific research
There are so many magical legends about Ganoderma lucidum that scientists naturally find it difficult to resist the temptation of these legends and hope to find out whether they are really magical. There are many research papers on Ganoderma lucidum published in academic journals, especially researchers in China, Japan, South Korea and the United States are very keen on this research, and hundreds of research articles have been published.
Many research projects are to extract some components of Ganoderma lucidum, deal with some specific cells or animals, and observe the effects of these components on diseases. It was observed that some components of Ganoderma lucidum, including chemically called "triterpenoids" and polysaccharides, showed certain antitumor, antiviral and immunomodulatory activities in vitro cell experiments and animal experiments.
It should be noted that the current research seems to excite us, but it is still far from reaching the conclusion that "Ganoderma lucidum or its extract can treat a certain disease". Most of these studies are done under the condition of in vitro culture, and tumor cells are very fragile in the culture dish, and small disturbances of culture medium components (such as spitting) may lead to their death. There is a lack of research on whether these ingredients are still useful in the human body, how much they need to be useful, and whether there are other adverse consequences under the effective dose. In fact, there are many components with similar functions extracted from natural products such as tomatoes, soybeans and garlic. The effective components and efficacy of Ganoderma lucidum extract do not show particularity.
If we summarize the current research results in one sentence, it is that the efficacy of Ganoderma lucidum needs and deserves further research, and the existing evidence is not enough to support us to make a positive or negative conclusion.
Difficulties of Ganoderma lucidum products
If a manufacturer wants to find some scientific research results in academic journals to support various "curative effects" of Ganoderma lucidum, it is not difficult, but also enough to frighten the general public. However, scientific research papers only study one aspect of the problem, or even a small side of the big problem. A large number of more complex studies and rigorous reviews are needed before reliable conclusions can be drawn. At least in the United States, manufacturers cannot sell their products with scientific papers before the FDA makes a decision.
Ganoderma lucidum has magical legends and some modern sciences are studying, but it can't enter the elegant hall of modern medicine because it still faces some difficulties.
There is no unified definition of "Ganoderma lucidum". Fundamentally speaking, it is a kind of mushroom (fungus). Even in China, there is more than one thing called "Ganoderma lucidum". The "Ganoderma lucidum" used by scientists all over the world is not the same thing, so it is not difficult to understand that each has its own results.
Secondly, like any natural product, the production of Ganoderma lucidum and its related products is difficult to carry out quality control. In modern medicine, products with poor quality control cannot be standardized. Think about it, how terrible it would be for us to take some medicine to treat diseases and save lives, but we don't know whether the box we bought is qualified and effective?
Thirdly, in the development of new drugs in modern medicine, there are many effective things in vitro experiments and animal experiments, and only a small part of them can really become drugs through further and more critical testing. Without large-scale clinical validation that meets the requirements of modern pharmacy, no drug can be approved as a modern drug. Can Ganoderma lucidum withstand these tests?
Finally, the current research is basically focused on "function", and there is a lack of research on toxic and side effects. A long history of use does not guarantee that it is safe. In fact, some studies have observed the toxicity of some triterpenoids at high concentrations, and some studies have found that some Ganoderma lucidum polysaccharides have inhibitory effects on immune function at high concentrations.
In general, Ganoderma lucidum is a thing of great research value. Its research should not be preconceived that it has "miraculous effect" and "no toxic and side effects". The Chinese ancients provided a good "research material" for its "experience". If we can use modern scientific methods to confirm or deny its legends, it is of great significance. Before doing this, it can not enter the palace of modern medicine, but can only stay at the level of legend. Its various "miracles" can only be supported by "faith is spirit".