Chemistry, Nutrition, and Health-Promoting Properties of Hericium erinaceus (Lion’s Mane) Mushroom Fruiting Bodies and Mycelia and Their Bioactive Compounds

Abstract

The culinary and medicinal mushroom Hericium erinaceus is widely consumed in Asian countries, but apparently not in the United States, for its nutritional and health benefits. To stimulate broader interest in the reported beneficial properties, this overview surveys and consolidates the widely scattered literature on the chemistry (isolation and structural characterization) of polysaccharides and secondary metabolites such as erinacines, hericerins, hericenones, resorcinols, steroids, mono- and diterpenes, and volatile aroma compounds, nutritional composition, food and industrial uses, and exceptional nutritional and health-promoting aspects of H. erinaceus. The reported health-promoting properties of the mushroom fruit bodies, mycelia, and bioactive pure compounds include antibiotic, anticarcinogenic, antidiabetic, antifatigue, antihypertensive, antihyperlipodemic, antisenescence, cardioprotective, hepatoprotective, nephroprotective, and neuroprotective properties and improvement of anxiety, cognitive function, and depression. The described anti-inflammatory, antioxidative, and immunostimulating properties in cells, animals, and humans seem to be responsible for the multiple health-promoting properties. A wide range of research advances and techniques are described and evaluated. The collated information and suggestion for further research might facilitate and guide further studies to optimize the use of the whole mushrooms and about 70 characterized actual and potential bioactive secondary metabolites to help prevent or treat human chronic, cognitive, and neurological diseases.

The Neuroprotective Properties of Hericium erinaceus in Glutamate-Damaged Differentiated PC12 Cells and an Alzheimer’s Disease Mouse Model

“…Free radical accumulation is an essential factor contributing to cellular apoptosis, and numerous natural products have been shown to control intracellular free radical levels [24]. HE has also been reported to display strong antioxidant effects, which may be directly associated with its broad therapeutic benefits [16]. As a hub for Ca 2+ signaling, which is an effector of ATP, mitochondria are considered central to intracellular energy metabolism [25].…”

“…Hericium erinaceus , an edible and medicinal mushroom, displays various pharmacological activities in the prevention of dementia in conditions such as PD and AD [15]. H. erinaceus water extracts have been reported to show antitumor, antimutagenic, antioxidant, hypolipidemic, and immunomodulatory properties in cell and animal models [16]. Encouragingly, H. erinaceus displays neuroprotective properties, such as facilitating nerve growth factor (NGF) expression and secretion and regulating the differentiation and development of cholinergic neurons in in vitro and in vivo experiments [2].…”

Two new records of hydnoid fungi from the Western Ghats of India

“…are also known for their therapeutic potential especially in stimulation or synthesis of nerve growth factor (NGF) and several health-promoting principles including those used in treatment of dementia (e.g. metabolites of H. erinaceus: Kawagishi and Zhuang 2008, Ma et al 2010, Friedman 2015, Thongbai et al 2015. It is also known that H. erinaceus possess polysaccharide belonging to -glucan group showing potent antitumor activities (Seok et al 2009).…”

A Comparative Proteomic Analysis of Erinacine A’s Inhibition of Gastric Cancer Cell Viability and Invasiveness

“…H. erinaceus can produce mycelia and biological metabolites, such as erinacines and hericenones, by liquid and solid-state fermentation without harmful effects [1, 2]. Either the H. erinaceus mycelium (erinacines A-I) or its fruit bodies (hericenones C-H) are the source of many bioactive extracts with valuable biological properties [3]. This study has identified that H. erinaceus has a number of therapeutic properties, such as antioxidant activity [1], hypolipidemic activity [4], hemagglutinating activity [5], antimicrobial activity [6], antiaging activity [7], and anticancer activity [8, 9].…”