Lion's Mane

What Lion's Mane is

Lion's Mane grows as a single white ball covered in soft hanging spines, which is where the name comes from. It fruits on hardwood in the wild and is grown commercially on supplemented hardwood blocks. Cooked fresh, it has a dense texture that people often compare to crab or scallop, and a mild flavor that carries seasoning well.

Dried and milled, it becomes a pale, fine powder with very little flavor of its own. That mildness is why it is the species most often stirred into coffee and smoothies rather than cooked into a dish.

The compounds, and why the part matters here

Two compound families come up in almost every discussion of this species. Hericenones are found in the fruiting body, the mushroom itself. Erinacines are associated with the mycelium, the threadlike network the fungus lives as before it fruits. Both are studied in connection with nerve growth factor.

This is the clearest example on our shelf of why the part of the fungus in the container is worth knowing. A powder built from mycelium grown on grain and a powder ground from fruiting bodies are different material with different compound profiles, and the label does not always say which one you have. We wrote a longer piece on that distinction.

Alongside those, the fruiting body carries beta-glucans and other polysaccharides, the compound family common to every mushroom in our daily line.

How the powder is used

The label serving, a level tablespoon, goes into coffee most easily, and the flavor is mild enough that it disappears into it. It also works in smoothies, oatmeal, and soup. Because it is 100% fruiting body with no additives and no extracts, nothing about it needs to be masked.

How much Lion's Mane powder per day

The label serving is a level tablespoon once a day, and a teaspoon is the lighter start while the taste is new. The table is the arithmetic for our powder; a measuring spoon is more reliable than a kitchen spoon.

A trial published in Phytotherapy Research in 2009 used 3 grams of dried fruiting body powder a day, taken as tablets in three doses, for 16 weeks. We cite it for the amount alone.

The trial row is an amount used in published research, and every other row is the arithmetic of our label's serving. None of it is a recommendation for you; ask your own clinician about what is right for you.

Compounds it is known for

• Hericenones
• Erinacines
• Beta-glucans
• Polysaccharides
• Antioxidants

What people take it for

• Supports brain health and focus
• Supports the immune system
• Supports gut health
• Rich in antioxidants

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.