Ganoderma lucidum, more commonly known by its Japanese name reishi or lingzhi is one of Asia’s best-known medicinal mushrooms and has long been revered for its therapeutic qualities and symbolism in Chinese culture. Reishi has also been used for over 2000 years in traditional Chinese medicine to support immune function and enhance overall wellbeing.

Ganoderma contains many bioactive polysaccharides and triterpenoids with proven therapeutic benefits, including liver protection, antiviral activity, antioxidant effects and immunomodulatory properties. Furthermore, Reishi contains plenty of vitamins and minerals like Vitamin D, potassium magnesium iron zinc as well as naturally occurring proteins amino acids fibre and B vitamins folic acid plus essential fatty acids which make this natural food source highly sought-after by vegans and vegetarians.

Animal studies have demonstrated the beneficial effects of GLP to protect liver health and reduce hepatic fibrosis, enhance glucose metabolism and inhibit lipid peroxidation. Reishi is known for being multifunctional food as well as being capable of modulating gut microbiota, contributing to its numerous positive benefits.

Reishi can be consumed in several forms, from capsules and tablets with concentrated extracts or powdered products that can be added to foods and beverages, to liquid extracts that can be mixed into water or other liquids or even brewed as tea.

Reishi extract can be taken orally and its active components absorbed by the digestive tract, where they act to promote better digestion, increase gut motility and lower blood lipid levels such as hyperglycemia and high cholesterol. GLP helps achieve this by regulating gut microbiota and decreasing liver synthesis of cholesterol.

Experiments conducted in vivo demonstrate how GLP can effectively treat metabolic disorders by increasing probiotic bacteria while suppressing pathogenic ones, while stimulating secretion of bile acid to enhance gut bowel function and promote overall well-being.

GLP can have a significant lipid-lowering effect through its polysaccharides and triterpenoids, with hydroalcoholic extract of GLP being particularly effective at doing this. Rat studies show it to significantly reduce triglycerides and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). Furthermore, it prevents liver injury by increasing protective enzyme production, enhances regeneration of hepatocytes while mitigating oxidative stress, as well as inhibiting replication of Hepatitis C virus (HCV). Finally it prevents replication of Hepatitis C virus within liver cells.