May and July 2015/University of Haifa, Israel, etc./International Journal of Medicinal Mushrooms
Text/Wu Tingyao
Clinical complications associated with diabetes may include cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy, neuropathy, nephropathy, anemia, and weakened immunity. Too much glucose in the blood will destroy red blood cells; the hyperglycemia environment triggers a large number of free radicals to proliferate, which will push the white blood cells towards apoptosis. A joint study by Israeli and Ukrainian scholars has shown that the submerged culture mycelium powder of Ganoderma lucidum at a certain high dose can simultaneously improve these two problems and improve the health of diabetic animals.
Ganoderma lucidum protects red blood cells and prevents anemia in diabetes.
Anemia is one of the common complications of diabetes. High concentration of blood sugar can cause erythrocyte membrane degeneration, which greatly shortens the lifespan of erythrocytes, and then causes anemia, which makes patients difficult to breathe or feel weak and tired because of tissue cellular hypoxia.
According to a joint study conducted by University of Haifa in Israel and Ivan Franko National University of Lviv in Ukraine, the submerged culture mycelium powder of Ganoderma lucidum can not only fight anemia but also lower blood sugar.
The researchers first injected rats with a synthetic antibiotic (streptozotocin) to destroy their pancreatic islet cells, causing them to form type 1 diabetes, and then orally treated them with Ganoderma lucidum submerged culture mycelium powder (1 g/kg/day).
Two weeks later, compared with untreated diabetic rats, the Ganoderma lucidum group not only significantly reduced the blood glucose index and glycosylated hemoglobin concentration but also had more red blood cells in the blood. The red blood cells were less prone to “hemolytic reaction” (referring to abnormal decomposition and death of red blood cells). Meanwhile, the concentration of fetal hemoglobin is relatively normal (this index will increase during anemia), and the body’s ability to produce red blood cells is greatly improved.
Long-term high blood sugar will harm both red blood cells and white blood cells. A high blood sugar environment will promote the production of a large number of free radicals (such as nitric oxide), resulting in an increase in the number of white blood cells (i.e. immune cells with immune activity) apoptosis, which in turn leads to a decline in immunity. Therefore, the research team also observed the protective effect of Ganoderma lucidum mycelium on white blood cells through animal experiments.
When type 1 diabetic rats ate Ganoderma lucidum mycelium powder for two weeks (dose: 1 g/kg/day), the activity of nitric oxide synthase in the body decreased while the metabolites of nitric oxide decreased. At the same time, the number of white blood cells and the ratio of apoptotic protein (p53) and antiapoptotic protein (Bcl-2) in white blood cells are also relatively close to those in normal rats. These results indicate that under the environment of high blood sugar in vivo, the submerged culture mycelium powder of Ganoderma lucidum can reduce the production of reactive nitrogen species and protect white blood cells.
In addition to Ganoderma lucidum, the researchers also observed the anti-anemia, hypoglycemic, anti-reactive nitrogen species and anti-apoptotic effects of the submerged culture mycelium powder of Agaricus brasiliensis. Under the same animal model, the same dosage, and the same time conditions, although the submerged culture mycelium powder of Agaricus brasiliensis also has a good effect, it is a pity that its performance is slightly weaker than that of Ganoderma lucidum.
However, no matter whether it is the submerged culture mycelium powder of Ganoderma lucidum or Agaricus brasiliensis, both have no adverse effects on the blood sugar, red blood cells or white blood cells of normal rats.
The above research results have been published in the “International Journal of Medicinal Mushrooms” in 2015 in two issues.
[Source]
1. vitak TY, et al. The Effect of the Medicinal Mushrooms Agaricus brasiliensis and Ganoderma lucidum (Higher Basidiomycetes) on the Erythron System in Normal and Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats. Int J Med Mushrooms. 2015;17(3):277-86.
2. Yurkiv B, et al. The Effect of Agaricus brasiliensis and Ganoderma lucidum Medicinal Mushroom Administration on the L-arginine /Nitric Oxide System and Rat Leukocyte Apoptosis in Experimental Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus. Int J Med Mushrooms. 2015;17(4):339-50.
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About the author/ Ms. Wu Tingyao
Wu Tingyao has been reporting on first-hand Ganoderma information since 1999. She is the author of Healing with Ganoderma (published in The People’s Medical Publishing House in April 2017).
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★ The original text of this article was written in Chinese by Wu Tingyao and translated into English by Alfred Liu. If there is any discrepancy between the translation (English) and the original (Chinese), the original Chinese shall prevail. If readers have any questions, please contact the original author, Ms. Wu Tingyao.
