Research overview
Liver
In a in Taiwan, 39 adults with mildly abnormal liver function took a lingzhi preparation containing and polysaccharide peptides every day; after 6 months their fell and antioxidant markers rose. Protecting the liver is an effect often mentioned in tradition, and human studies are still accumulating. There are also a few of abnormal liver function after taking lingzhi powder, so people with liver disease should consult a doctor first; see “Safety notes”.
This topic includes 3 studies and reports, each linked to its source.
Terms explained on this page (6)
- double-blind
- Neither the participants nor the researchers know who is taking lingzhi and who is taking the comparison product, which makes the results more objective.
- crossover trial
- The same people take the test product and the placebo one after the other, with a break in between, so each person is compared with themselves.
- triterpenes
- A group of bitter-tasting compounds in lingzhi, found mainly in the fruiting body; one of lingzhi’s main active components.
- liver enzymes
- Blood markers of liver-cell health (AST, ALT). High values usually suggest the liver may be damaged.
- case report
- A doctor’s detailed account of an individual patient, written to alert colleagues to something that may happen.
- placebo
- A comparison product that looks and tastes like the real product but contains no active ingredients, used to compare against the real thing.