Individual Herbs Notebook

Hou Tou Gu

Pharmaceutical: Hericium Erinaceus

Other names: Lions Mane Mushroom

Category: Herbs that Tonify Qi



Properties: Sweet, neutral

Meridans Entered:
Primary: Heart, Spleen, Lung, Kidney and Liver


Traditional Actions/Indications:
  1. Benefits the five internal organs (heart, liver, spleen, lungs and kidneys)
    Neurological problems such as dementia, MS, neuropathy, nerve damage, anxiety or depression due to hericenones in the fruiting body and diterpinoid erinacines from the mycelium that stimulate NGF
    Menopausal and perimenopausal sleep disturbance, anxiety and hot flushes.
  2. Promotes digestion
    Gastric ulcers caused by H. Pylori

Suggested Daily Dosage: 10-30g in decoction. Mushrooms should ideally be decocoted for at least 40 minutes and preferably 1-2 hours to fully extract the polysaccharides from within the chitin cell walls.


Cautions: Caution in asthma and allergic conditions.


Notes:

Information about the constituents supporting the indications has been taken from Powell (2014), Medicinal Mushrooms: A Clinical Guide.


Does not appear in any formulae listed on this site
Research Links & References: (click to display)