Lingzhi has long been consumed in China, and most people notice no obvious discomfort when taking it. Still, the medical literature records a few situations worth watching for, and knowing them can help you take it with more peace of mind:
· If you develop weakness, poor appetite, yellowing of the skin or eyes, or dark urine, or a cough, fever or shortness of breath while taking it, stop and see a doctor promptly, and tell the doctor you take lingzhi.
· If you have liver disease, are receiving chemo- or radiotherapy, or take medicines long term, talk to your doctor before taking it.
· Before a checkup or follow-up test, tell your doctor that you take lingzhi or spore powder.
· Do not pick wild “lingzhi” in the mountains to eat yourself; wild fungi are varied and easy to misidentify.
This topic includes 5 studies and reports, each linked to its source.
Terms explained on this page (5)
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.
placebo
A comparison product that looks and tastes like the real product but contains no active ingredients, used to compare against the real thing.
randomized
Deciding who takes lingzhi and who does not by something like drawing lots, so the two groups are as similar as possible and the comparison is fair.
case report
A doctor’s detailed account of an individual patient, written to alert colleagues to something that may happen.
In a at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, 18 healthy adults aged 22 to 52 took 1.44 g a day of a lingzhi preparation (roughly equivalent to 13.2 g of fresh lingzhi) for 4 weeks. The study looked at antioxidant status, cardiovascular risk, DNA damage, immunity, inflammation and liver and kidney toxicity, among other measures. No liver or kidney toxicity or DNA damage was reported.
Controlled human trialCompares people who took it with people who did not
Half took lingzhi capsules and half took a , and clotting measures before and after were compared.
What the researchers say
All participants were healthy and none were taking anticoagulants. If you take anticoagulant or antiplatelet medicines, or are preparing for surgery or a tooth extraction, tell your doctor you take lingzhi.
Doctors in Thailand reported that while a patient was taking a lingzhi product containing spores, a stool test found large numbers of spores, which were at first suspected to be a parasitic infection. A few days after the patient stopped, the spores disappeared from the stool.
Doctors’ case reportDescribes individual patients and flags what deserves attention
Oral lingzhi has relatively few side effects. A small number of people may experience stomach discomfort, bloating, diarrhea, constipation, dry mouth or blisters on the lips when they start taking it, mostly mild.
Book on lingzhiSummarized from a published book; verifiable by title and ISBN
Published book · see title and ISBN in the source
How the study was done
Drawn from the section “Does lingzhi have side effects?”. There are also reports of allergic reactions to Bozhi glycopeptide injection (a lingzhi-type injectable).
What the researchers say
If you feel unwell after taking it, especially with new symptoms, stop and consult a doctor.
Source
Lin Zhibin (ed.), 灵芝从神奇到科学 [Lingzhi: From Mystery to Science], 3rd ed., Peking University Medical Press, 2018, ISBN 978-7-5659-1844-5, Ch. 15
More than 20 case reports show that after taking lingzhi preparations containing spores, the spores seen in stool microscopy are easily mistaken for parasite eggs such as liver fluke eggs, which can lead to misdiagnosis and wrong treatment. Another report described 3 patients with gastrointestinal tumors whose tumor marker CA72-4 rose after taking spore powder; follow-up over 6 to 9 months showed no disease progression, so the rise may have been benign.
Book on lingzhiSummarized from a published book; verifiable by title and ISBN
Published book · see title and ISBN in the source
How the study was done
Drawn from the section “Lingzhi spore powder interfering with clinical tests”.
What the researchers say
If you take lingzhi spore powder, tell your doctor before having a stool test or tumor marker test.
Source
Lin Zhibin (ed.), 灵芝从神奇到科学 [Lingzhi: From Mystery to Science], 3rd ed., Peking University Medical Press, 2018, ISBN 978-7-5659-1844-5, Ch. 15 (original source for the CA72-4 cases: Yan Bing et al., 2012)