Magical mushroom: Scaling up Ganoderma lucidum cultivation

Ganoderma lucidum is a medicinal mushroom in use for centuries to heal diseases like diabetes, cancer, inflammation, ulcer as well as bacterial and skin infections. 

About Ganoderma lucidum:

• The mushroom is shiny red-brown in colour and naturally grows on wood.
• It prefers broad-leaved tree species like acacia, poplar, oak, maple, melia, eucalyptus, hevea, tectona and grewia. 
• The lower surface of this mushroom is porous, pale white in colour and produces red spores on maturity.
• It thrives well in warm and humid climates, and grows preferably in mixed forests of sub-tropical to temperate regions. 
• It is considered one of the most important medicinal mushrooms in the world since its chemical constituents exhibit numerous medicinal properties.
• They have earned it monikers such as “mushroom of immortality”, “celestial herb” and “auspicious herb”.
• It is globally also known as “red reishi mushroom”. 
• The history of consumption of this mushroom can be traced back to 5,000 years ago in China.
• It also finds mention in the historical and medical records of countries like Japan, Korea, Malaysia and India. 
• Ganoderma contains more than 400 chemical constituents, including triterpenes, polysaccharides, nucleotides, alkaloids, steroids, amino acids, fatty acids and phenols. 
• These show medicinal properties such as immunomodulatory, anti-hepatitis, anti-tumour, antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-HIV, antimalarial, hypoglycaemic and anti-inflammatory properties. 
• Unlike normal mushrooms, the peculiar character of this one is that it grows on wood or wood-based substrate only. 
• Ganoderma lucidum is also used as a base material for manufacturing products such as tea, coffee, energy supplements, health boosters, beverages, baked goods and anti-ageing cosmetics.