As the most powerful herbs in China, Ganoderma, the name of the fungus Ganoderma lucidum, also called “Lingzhi” in Chinese, “Reishi” in Japan and “Yeongji” in Korean, has been a traditional medicine for over 4,000 years. In ancient China, Ganoderma was so rare and so highly prized that it was only reserved for the emperors and was called the “Elixir of Life”.

The ancient Chinese called “Lingzhi” the tree of life and plant longevity. It was believed that mere possession of the fungus Ganoderma Lucidum extends the life of the owner. Centuries of use have brought it a variety of names: celestial or heavenly grass, drug king, the plant of happiness. Shizhen LI, or called Shi-Jean Lee, a famous doctor of the Ming dynasty of China, write his book, “Ben Cao Gang Mu”, said long-term intake Ganoderma Lucidum allows the formation of healthy body and achieve longevity.

The oldest Chinese Medical text known today is the “Shen Nong’s Herbal Classic”, which is known in Japan as “Shinnoh Honsohkyo”. This herbal medicine book classifies 365 species into three categories: 1) Superior: Herbs which are effective for multiple diseases and mostly responsible for maintaining and restoring the body balance. They have almost no unfavorable side effects, thus also called God’s Herbs. 2) Average: These are herbs mainly used as tonics and boosters, but their consumption must not be prolonged. 3) Fair: Herbs in this category are taken as a remedy for certain ailments only and taken in small doses.

Treatments using herbs in fair and average category have been monitored carefully and should not be taken continuously. In the superior category, these herbs can be taken in any doses and continuously without unfavorable side effects. Amongst the Superior Herbs, Ganoderma Lingzhi Reishi is ranked number one, and was therefore the most exalted medicine in ancient times, thus it is also called “the King of Herbs”. For centuries Ganoderma Lingzhi Reishi is known to be a medicine that will grant you eternal youth and longevity. Due to its medicinal properties and its rarity, many studies were carried out to cultivate Ganoderma Lingzhi Reishi. With the success in cultivating, it is now more readily available to us to use to maintain our health or treat illnesses. Scientists can now make more research to understand its medicinal properties. One of the successes is that Ganoderma Lingzhi Reishi is found to be effective in fighting against cancer, though many modern medicine professionals still discounted it, preferring the use of drugs and chemotherapy which have been shown to have many bad side effects. Ganoderma Lucidum Lingzhi Reishi is now used in many forms and is produced in several ways to extract the best medicinal properties. It can be taken daily without any side effects and long-term use proven strengthens the immune system of human body without any adverse effects on the body.

There have been numerous testimonials and studies showing the excellent medicinal properties of Ganoderma Lingzhi Reishi, confirms that it is indeed The King of Herbs and God’s Herbs.

Background information about Ganoderma:
Ganoderma lucidum is one of fungi in the family of Basidiomycetes, which is referred as Lingzhi in Chinese and considered as a precious herb in traditional Chinese medicines. The use of Ganoderma lucidum was clearly described in Compendium of Material Medica by Shizhen Li, a famous herbal scholar in the Ming Dynasty (A.D. 1368-1644). Ancient Chinese records show that the species is to promote longevity and maintain vitality of the human body. Its major benefit appears to be its immuno-modulating action, resulting in enhancement of immunity, improvement of liver functions, improvement and restoration of the normal functions of the respiratory system, and prevention of certain viral infections on the basis of the abundant clinical evidence.

Ganoderma Spore:
A mature Ganoderma fruit body ejects the tiny spores which are about 8-12×6-7 micron. The spore can be considered as the seed of Ganoderma fruit body. The structure of each spore consists of 2 layers of the rigid wall, the sporoderm. The cavities between the walls contain bioactive substance for germination. See pictures: Fresh Ganoderma Spore, Single Ganoder Spore.

Ganoderma Spore Powder:
Ganoderma Spore has a tough shell or “sporoderm”, therefore, raw spore are not easily digested and absorbed by the body system to effect healing. Lingzhi Master® GURU® breakthrough series of effective methods patented in USA, EU, Japan and China for removing the hard shell of Ganoderma spore. See Picture: Ganoderma Spore Slice. Clinical studies show that the bioactive substance could only be obtained and absorbed by the human body when the sporoderm was broken.

Topics and FAQs:

How is Ganoderma Spore released from the Ganoderma fruit body?
Once the Ganoderma fruit body reaches maturity (usually 5-7 months after cultivated), and if the condition is favorable, the spores are expelled or ejected out from the thousands of tiny pore-like openings which are located at the underside of the fruit body. This process goes on from 5 to 10 days.

Ben Cao Gang Mu (Ming Dynasty – Li Shizhen), also known as Compendium of Materia Medica, is a Chinese materia medica work written by Li Shizhen in Ming Dynasty. The Ben Cao Gang Mu is regarded as the most complete and comprehensive medical book ever written in the history of traditional Chinese medicine. It lists all the plants, animals, minerals, and other objects that were believed to have medicinal properties.

Li Shizhen completed the first draft of the text in 1578, after conducting readings of 800 other medical reference books and carrying out 30 years of field study. With the publication of the Compendium of Materia Medica, not only did it improve the classification of how traditional medicine was compiled and formatted, but it was also a great medium in improving the credibility and scientific values of biology classification of both plants and animals. The compendium corrected many mistakes and false understandings of the nature of herbs and illness. Li also included many new herbs, added his own discovery in certain drugs, their effectiveness and function, as well as more detailed description according to experiments. It also has notes and records on general medical data and medical history.

For thousands of years Lingzhi has been considered by the Chinese to be a high quality herbal medicine. It can improve one’s constitution, increase the body’s healing ability, help maintain a healthy body, and promote longevity.

Compendium of Materia Medica, written by Li Shizhen in Ming Dynasty, classifies Lingzhi into six categories by color. They are Black Lingzhi, Blue Lingzhi, White Lingzhi, Yellow Lingzhi, and Red Lingzhi.

According to Chinese literature, Lingzhi penetrates into and works on five key human organs; the heart, lungs, liver, kidney, and pancreas. Lingzhi is good for various ailments because its basic function is the enhancement of the body’s internal balance and strengthening of the immune system. It is different from other dietary supplements claiming to alleviate specific diseases because it helps regulate the entire body and metabolism to ensure that all of the organs function properly.