Talk:Lingzhi
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Contents |
[edit] Verifiability
This article's final section opens with the sentence: "Numerous studies of lingzhi, mainly in China, Korea, Japan and the United States, has shown its effectiveness in the treatment of a very wide range of diseases and symptoms." Not one of those studies is cited, and I found no such studies in Google and no mentions of lingzhi (or reishi or ganoderma) on major medical sites. This section should either be sourced or excised. | Keithlaw 18:54, 15 November 2005 (UTC)
-Try PubMed. There's plenty of concrete, peer-reviewed research - whether it substantiates the herbalists' claims, I'm not qualified to say. Here's 10 hits from PubMed:
Woo CW, Man RY, Siow YL, Choy PC, Wan EW, Lau CS, Karmin O. Related Articles, Links Abstract Ganoderma lucidum inhibits inducible nitric oxide synthase expression in macrophages. Mol Cell Biochem. 2005 Jul;275(1-2):165-71.
2: Nonaka Y, Ishibashi H, Nakai M, Shibata H, Kiso Y, Abe S. Related Articles, Links Abstract [Soothing effect of Ganoderma lucidum antlered form on cyclophosphamide-induced adverse reaction] Gan To Kagaku Ryoho. 2005 Oct;32(11):1586-8. Japanese.
3: Wang CZ, Basila D, Aung HH, Mehendale SR, Chang WT, McEntee E, Guan X, Yuan CS. Related Articles, Links Abstract Effects of ganoderma lucidum extract on chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in a rat model. Am J Chin Med. 2005;33(5):807-15.
4: [No authors listed] Related Articles, Links No abstract [Luminous quack doctor] Schweiz Rundsch Med Prax. 2005 Sep 21;94(38):1497. German. No abstract available.
5: Hijikata Y, Yasuhara A, Sahashi Y. Related Articles, Links Abstract Effect of an herbal formula containing Ganoderma lucidum on reduction of herpes zoster pain: a pilot clinical trial. Am J Chin Med. 2005;33(4):517-23. PMID: 16173526 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] 6: Gao Y, Tang W, Dai X, Gao H, Chen G, Ye J, Chan E, Koh HL, Li X, Zhou S. Related Articles, Links Abstract Effects of water-soluble Ganoderma lucidum polysaccharides on the immune functions of patients with advanced lung cancer. J Med Food. 2005 Summer;8(2):159-68. PMID: 16117607 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] 7: Yang HL, Chen GH, Li YQ. Related Articles, Links Abstract A quantum chemical and statistical study of ganoderic acids with cytotoxicity against tumor cell. Eur J Med Chem. 2005 Oct;40(10):972-6. Epub 2005 Jul 11.
8: Gao Y, Gao H, Chan E, Tang W, Xu A, Yang H, Huang M, Lan J, Li X, Duan W, Xu C, Zhou S. Related Articles, Links Abstract Antitumor activity and underlying mechanisms of ganopoly, the refined polysaccharides extracted from Ganoderma lucidum, in mice. Immunol Invest. 2005;34(2):171-98.
9: Lin YL, Liang YC, Lee SS, Chiang BL. Related Articles, Links Abstract Polysaccharide purified from Ganoderma lucidum induced activation and maturation of human monocyte-derived dendritic cells by the NF-kappaB and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways. J Leukoc Biol. 2005 Aug;78(2):533-43. Epub 2005 May 13.
10: Tang W, Gao Y, Chen G, Gao H, Dai X, Ye J, Chan E, Huang M, Zhou S. Related Articles, Links Abstract A randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of a Ganoderma lucidum polysaccharide extract in neurasthenia. J Med Food. 2005 Spring;8(1):53-8.
129.128.166.158 20:26, 4 February 2006 (UTC)
I have referenced those and other statements and removed the verification notice. Karen S Vaughan 18:07, 24 May 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Modern scientific studies
Definately POV - the section takes an opportunity to defend 'traditional oriental wisdom' from Western conceptions of medicine. That sort of talk should be elsewhere. The bottom line is, many of the traditionally-ascribed properties have not yet been corroborated by science (which is not traditional oriental wisdom, but is the title of the section). I would, at minimum, excise a whole paragraph. 129.128.166.158 20:26, 4 February 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Article title
Is it better known in English as lingzhi or reishi? Badagnani 05:57, 6 August 2006 (UTC)
My question exactly! I thought this mushroom was better known as "reishi".24.83.178.11 07:01, 3 May 2007 (UTC)BeeCier
I think the general public knows it better as Reishi. In Chinese medicine it is better known as Ling zhi. It seems too much trouble to go through and change the references for consistency and to move it. They get redirected here all the same. Karen S Vaughan 18:09, 24 May 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Copyvio
I've moved this copyvio from the article to the talk. If anyone cares to include this information without copying wholesale, it is here for your ref. --Rifleman 82 10:05, 20 May 2007 (UTC)
Copyvio starts here:
(Quoted from http://www.reishirescue.com/index.cfm?Fuseaction=ArticleDisplay&ArticleID=360) Ganoderma has been recognized traditionally and scientifically as potentially useful in the treatment of cancer, but there is a notable discrepancy with the publics frequent impression that ganoderma may be a cure for cancer and the lack of clinical trials demonstrating such efficacy. We intend to summarize the extent of available theoretical, experimental and clinical data for the use of Ganoderma Supplementation in cancer and outline its indications, especially in the context of clinical results from bioactively similar polysaccharide derived biological response modifiers (BRMs) from other fungi (Mizuno 1996). Experimental Evidence of Ganodermas Potential in Cancer Treatment Ikekawa et al. (1968) first reported on the efficacy of soluble extracts from Ganoderma in inhibiting transplanted sarcoma 180 in mice. This host-dependent anti-tumor activity has been subsequently confirmed to be from the polysaccharide fractions of Ganoderma (Sasaki et al., 1971). Multiple similar studies subsequently confirms this observation and anti-tumor efficacy of Ganoderma has been demonstrated from various species, at different stages of growth and using different solvents for extraction and different routes of administration. Anti-tumor activity has been demonstrated in vitro as well as in syngeneic tumor systems in animals. However, no human trials of Ganoderma against cancer in peer reviewed journals nor any controlled clinical trials in humans have yet been conducted or published.
From a theoretical point of view, it is important to note that other fungal polysaccharides of comparable structure and function as those found in Ganoderma have undergone rigorous clinical trials, including Lentinan, Sizofilan, PSK (Krestin), PSP. Since it is now increasingly clear that immunostimulatory bioactivity from most beta-glucan based compounds function via a similar beta-glucan receptor (Czop 1985), it has been possible to hypothesize that Ganoderma polysaccharides should function similarly (Chang, 1996). Clinical effects of various glucan based BRMs should therefore be comparable. Results from Lentinan, Sizofilan, PSK and PSP human trials demonstrated the efficacy of these glucan BRMs in prolonging survival in recurrent or advanced gastric and colon cancer, lung cancer and gynecological cancers, Data from such bioactively comparable compounds all suggest improved quality of life or survival for cancer patients may be possible with Ganoderma supplementation.
Indications and Evidence Supporting the Use of Ganoderma Supplementation in Cancer
Whilst some efficacy of Ganoderma in cancer is undoubted, it remains important to specify the various indications and cite the evidence to support its use. This can be discussed under four different circumstances:
A. As a supplement during chemotherapy or radiotherapy to reduce side-effects such as fatigue, loss of appetite, hair loss, bone marrow suppression and risk of infection. There are studies demonstrating Ganodermas efficacy against fatigue (Yang 1994), hair loss (Miyamoto et al. 1985), and bone marrow suppression (Jia et al. 1993) and the presence of similar clinical evidence for other glucan BRMs applied in the setting of cancer chemotherapy or radiotherapy (Shi 1993) lends further support to the supplementation of Ganoderma in combination with cytotoxic cancer therapies. The recommended dose should be in the range of five to ten grams of fruiting body or equivalent per day (Chang 1994).
B. As a supplement for cancer patients to enhance survival and reduce likelihood of metastasis. While only anecdotal data exists that ganoderma supplementation may enhance survival of cancer patients, this survival advantage has been demonstrated for a number of comparable glucan BRMs. Specifically, Lentinan use in advanced or recurrent gastric cancer demonstrated a significant life span prolongation advantage at 1, 2, 3 and 4 years in a randomized control trial (Taguchi 1987). Sizolan given together with chemotherapy enhanced survival of cervical cancers irrespective of stage in a prospective randomized controlled trial (Inoue et al. 1993), significantly enhanced survival (P.01) in lung cancer patients (Honma 1982) and improved five year survival of head and neck cancer from 73.4 to 86.7% was noted in another small study (Kimura et al. 1994). More appropriate for comparison to Ganoderma is perhaps PSK or PSP, which are orally administered. Mitomi et al. (1994) found significantly improved survival and disease-free survival (P=0.013) in resected colorectal cancer given PSK supplementation over three years when compared to control in a multi-center randomized controlled trial.
In an animal model, Ganoderma has been demonstrated to effectively prevent metastasis (Lee 1984), and these results are comparable to those of Lentinan (Suga 1994). Other glucan BRMs have been demonstrated to effectively prevent or suppress pulmonary metastasis of methylcholanthrene-induced sarcomas, human prostate cancer DU145M, and lymphatic metastasis of mouse leukemia P388 (Kobayashi et al. 1995). The recommended dose should be five to ten grams or more of fruiting body or equivalent per day, with a linear enhancement in efficacy expected up to 30 grams per day (Chang 1994).
C. As a supplement for cancer patients to improve quality of life. Again, only anecdotal information exists for Ganoderma in this situation but other oral glucan derivatives such as PSP has been found to be useful in improving quality of life in cancer patients (Yao 1993). Significantly, Ganoderma supplementation was noted to decrease pain in cancer patients (Kupin 1994). The recommended dose would be five to ten grams of fruiting body or equivalent per day (Chang 1994).
D. As a supplement for the prevention of occurrence or recurrence of cancer. Since immune stimulation, especially Natural Killer (NK) and Cytotoxic Lymphocyte (CTL) activation may be effective in the immune prevention of cancer by enhanced immune surveillance (Lotzova 1985), and Ganoderma has been demonstrated to enhance NK and CTL activity when administered orally (Won et al. 1989), it is thus a candidate for prevention of the occurrence or recurrence of cancer. Stavinoha et al. demonstrated the efficacy of Ganoderma in preventing the progression of microadenomatous growths in animals (Stavinoha 1993), and the efficacy of other glucan BRMs in primary and secondary cancer prevention have been similarly demonstrated in vitro, in vivo and in clinical trials.
Conclusion
Although Ganoderma and its derivatives are not pharmaceuticals and have not undergone rigorous clinical trials to be tested against cancer, there is abundant use in vitro, animal and indirect clinical evidence to support its supplemental use in cancer. Standardization in bioactive polysaccharide content and dosages will be necessary to assure its rational use, and clinical trials in select cancers with defined endpoints will confirm its efficacy.
[edit] Material from the Ganoderma article
The article on Ganoderma was all about Lingzhi, even though Ganoderma is a genus with multiple species.
Some of the information is not in this article, so I am pasting it here so it will not be lost. Feel free to take this text and put it into this article where appropriate.
For over 2000 years, Reishi Mushrooms (Ganoderma lucidum) have been considered by the Chinese to be a high quality herbal medicine. In the traditional Chinese medical theory, Reishi or Lingzhi is among the highest ranking. It can improve overall health, increase the body's healing ability, promote longevity and it does not bring along any side effects even taken a long period of time. According to Dr. ShiJean Lee, the most famous Chinese Medical Doctor of the Ming Dynasty, long term consumption of Reishi will build a strong, healthy body and assure a long life. Modern medical research also proves that Reishi has a wide range of medical effects.
Its main function is to promote blood circulation and increase the metabolic activities of cells (detoxification) and also help the proper functioning of all internal organs (balance the body functions).
Lingzhi can be taken daily, for long periods, with out any adverse side effects. Long term use of lingzhi can help normalize body function and empower the immune system to fight disease. It is not merely a medicinal mushroom that heals a particular disease, but is considered to be an adaptogen, that is it helps to regulate and mobilize all bodily functions.
To achieve the highest ranking, a herbal medicine must satisfy the following conditions: It should be non toxic( have no side effects), Its effects should not be limited to a specific part, or organ of the body, - It should be able to normalize all of the body's functions.
[edit] 4 Basic Principles in Ganotherapy
- Illness is caused by 2 sources; toxins in our body and disharmony in body functions.
- Ganoderma does not cure illness but it can help balance up our body system and improve immunity against diseases.
- Any reaction that takes place is caused by our body system and not by the intake of Ganoderma.
- The Dosage of Ganoderma taken is irrelevant to diseases.
[edit] The Power of Reishi
RG ( Reishi Gano ) is a kind of mushroom essence ( Ganoderma lucidum ) widely known as "King of Herbs". It contains more than 300 active elements which can be divided into three categories including 30% of water-soluble elements, 65% of organic-soluble elements, and 5% of volatile elements. The main active elements are: Polysaccharides, Organic germanium, Adenosine, Ganoderic essence, Triterpenoids, Protein, and Fibre.
[edit] Strength of GL :
- Strengthens body resistance
- Cleanses toxins out of the body
- Provides full range of vitamins and minerals
- Helps to maintain a healthy gastric and renal system
[edit] Important Elements found in Reishi
Through modern scientific analysis, there are more than 200 active elements found in Reishi. The main active elements are :
[edit] Polysaccharides
Polysaccharides stimulate or modulate the immune system by activating the immune cells such as macrophage and helper Tcells as well as increase the levels of immunoglobulin (antibodies) in fighting the unwanted foreign cells such as bacteria, viruses etc. It helps to cleanse toxic deposits from body, strengthen the natural healing ability of the body, convert abnormal cells into normal cells, strengthening the resistance of the body and thus improve overall health. Experiments at the Drug Research Institute in Toyama, Japan :confirmed that polysaccharides in reishi are responsible for the immune enhancement. In Japan, Reishi extract has been reported to be effective in treating patients with liver failure.
[edit] Triterpenoids
Triterpenoids are responsible for Reishi's bitter taste and several of its medicinal properties. It is the component, which responsible in improving blood pressure and blood lipid. Triterpenoids have a kind of harmonizing effect on the body especially on the immune system as well as the circulatory system. It gives Reishi an adaptogenic quality, providing the person with protection. from a wide range of biological, environmental and social stresses.
[edit] Adenosine
Adenosine improves blood circulation by inhibiting blood platelet aggregation. An earlier study done by a team of researcher from Beijing College of Traditional Chinese Medicine found that Reishi improves the function of red blood cells in transferring oxygen. They related this result to the adenosine in Reishi. Adenosine is also helpful in lowering the cholesterol level and regulating the metabolism and hence promoting vigour and vitality.
[edit] Organic Germanium
The content of organic germanium in reishi is very high compared to any other herb in the world. The following are some of the functions of organic germanium in our body.
- Increases oxygen supply to the blood stream
- Revives cell tissues by increasing oxygen supply to body organs.
- Increases body's metabolic rate.
- Eliminates electric energy around abnormal cells and turn abnormal cells in to normal cells.
- Relieves fatigue.
[edit] Ganoderic Essence
Ganoderic essence is a rare ingredient found in herbs. This is the element which gives reishi the shining property. Ganoderic essence can beautify the skin and it is helpful in treating skin related diseases. Because of Ganoderic essence, reishi can be used externally for skin related problems and for small cuts and wounds. Studies conducted by various researchers reveal that, continuous usage of Ganoderic essence can retard ageing.
In today's world, large proportion of the population is constantly in the state of 'preillness' due to environmental pollution, stresses and unhealthy lifestyle such as consuming diet which is high in fats, cholesterol, sugar, salt and with the abundant supply of frozen and processed foods compounded by chemical additives. Under these circumstances, it is wise to prevent any deterioration in health rather than seek a cure after illness prevails. As recorded in the oldest Chinese medical text, Reishi is to be used for preventive measures rather than a cure. Therefore, Reishi is the best solution for modern day sickness because it is the nature's best gift for mankind.
[edit] To-do List for FA status
Bear with me guys - there is alot of info all over teh place and I am trying to reorganize it into sections. This has had a lot of work done (congrats to those so far) and shouldn't be too hard to get to FAC. cheers, Casliber (talk · contribs) 06:08, 26 June 2007 (UTC)
[edit] new photos
Hey all - I have a dried whole Lingzhi sitting on my shelf, so I can provide another high-res image. Does anyone have easy access to medicinal preparations of it? Debivort 06:19, 26 June 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Lingzhi successful collab for July 07
Support:
1. Debivort 05:37, 26 June 2007 (UTC) 2. cheers, Casliber (talk · contribs) 06:01, 26 June 2007 (UTC)
Comments:
- Already fairly well developed. Biased toward medicinal aspects, should be ballanced in that respect, but could be an article with a lot of attention in various circles. Debivort 05:37, 26 June 2007 (UTC)
- Wow what a surprise! Great amount of groundwork done. Let's go.....cheers, Casliber (talk · contribs) 06:01, 26 June 2007 (UTC)
Independent Reishi Research link The following link: Independent Research Database on Reishi Medicinal Properties (http://www.vermontmushrooms.com/herbmed_gmm.php?HerbID=3) is hosted by my company (Green Mountain Mycosystems, LLC), and the research database is created and maintained by HerbMed which is a non-profit dedicated to providing independent scientific information on traditional herbs which offers memberships for a modest fee to cover the costs of maintaining the database. In the case of Reishi, Maitake, Shiitake, and Cordyceps, my business leases this information from them (dynamically provided from their site to ours every time a person is viewing a database entry) to make it publicly available for free instead of having people need to purchase a membership to view this important information. The link to this databased historically in the ling zhi article goes straight to the database, which complements the ling zhi entry and provides up to date research on reishi which is entirely independent from the financial interests of my business. I started my business out of my passion for medicinal mushrooms and fail to understand how a link to a free database on reishi's medicinal properties can be considered spam simply because a known spammer complained about another business having a link (who I will not mention, but you can look at the history to know who I refer to if you want to). Any feedback on reasons for or against removal of this link would be greatly appreciated. Thank you, David Demarest ReishiDave —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Reishidave (talk • contribs) 07:05:31, August 19, 2007 (UTC).
- I can see your point. However, there's obviously some complexity to this issue that will likely get missed, as not all readers and contributors read the talk page. So it is very likely that inclusion of your link will lead again to notions of "if this link is in there, mine might very well be in there too", placing the onus on admins and other contributors to sort out what is commercial spam and what is not. Ideally the information given in the HerbMed database should filter through into the wiki entry--as you have access to this information, I can see one possible solution in that you include to the article any new info as it becomes available. This may seem arduous, but it's in fact easier to do with a curated database to which you have access than trying to gather info from many different sources, as most other contributors have to do. While I see the value of having direct access to a Lingzhi database, the linking via your commercial enterprise in my opinion precludes inclusion of your link. Malljaja 09:24, 19 August 2007 (UTC)
I am happy to add upon the wiki entry applicable information on reishi and definitely do so as my schedule allows; however the sheer volume of research available in the database would create an very long winded reishi entry or a relative lack of organized scientific research in my opinion. I can't help but think that items 3 and 4 of "Links Normally to be Avoided"(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:EL#Restrictions_on_linking) are the only applicable reasons to delete the Independent Reishi Database link but that they do not preclude a commercial business being linked to if the link is actually providing useful independent information instead of primarily attempting to promote or sell products. Just my additional 2 cents, David Demarest ReishiDave —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Reishidave (talk • contribs) 00:18, August 20, 2007 (UTC).
