Antidiabetic activity of the lingzhi or reishi medicinal mushroom <I>Ganoderma lucidum:</i> A review

Abstract

Non-communicable diseases are the leading cause of death and some of the serious problems currently facing developed countries. A novel nutraceutical or drugs for both curing and preventing diabetes mellitus, one of the non-communicable diseases, has to be identified because the existing synthetic drugs have several limitations. For more than a century medicinal plants, including medicinal mushrooms, have traditionally been used in the treatment of diabetes mellitus, but only a few have been tested for their safety and efficacy. This article is focused on Ganoderma lucidum (known as lingzhi or reishi) mushrooms, one of the well-known medicinal mushrooms which is used for promoting health and longevity in traditional Chinese medicine. The reishi mushroom contains several important phytochemical substances including terpenoid, steroids, phenols, nucleotides, glycoproteins, and polysaccharides. Many researchers have reported the major impact of these phytochemical substances on patients with diabetes mellitus. The antidiabetic activity of the Ganoderma lucidum mushroom, and the potential to be considered as a candidate for a new treatment of diabetes mellitus, will be reviewed.