Ganoderma and Health

This book presents a state-of-the-art report on recent advances concerning Ganoderma and where the field is going. Although some older work is also cited, the main focus is on advances made over the past 20 years in the research history, classification, chemical components and industry of Ganoderma.

Ganoderma lucidum (Lingzhi) has been used as a traditional medicine in Asian countries to maintain health and to treat diseases for more than two thousand years. Recently, its value has been demonstrated in preventing and treating certain diseases, such as tumors, liver disorders, renal injury, hypercholesterolemia, obesity, cerebral ischemia reperfusion, bronchitis etc. In addition, laboratory and clinical studies have confirmed that the chemical components of Ganoderma, such as Ganoderma lucidum polysaccharide peptides and triterpenes isolated from the fruiting body of Ganoderma lucidum, produce diverse pharmacological effects. Ganoderma and its components play an important part in antioxidant stress, radical-scavenging, immunomodulation, and intracellular signaling regulation, and accordingly warrant further study. This book systematically reviews the latest advances in our understanding of Ganoderma's basic knowledge, history of modern research, species, cultivation, components, spore polysaccharide and industry of Ganoderma, and offers researchers and graduate students valuable new insights into the development and clinical applications of Ganoderma and related products.

Dr. Zhibin Lin is a Professor at the Department of Pharmacology, Peking University. He is also the honorary President of the Chinese Pharmacological Society, Senior Counsellor of the China Edible Fungi Association, and Councilor of the Southeast Asia Pacific Regional Federation of Pharmacologists. Prof. Lin has been engaged in pharmacological research on Ganoderma for more than 40 years, and has also has been involved in the research, development and clinical applications of various Ganoderma products. He has published more than 100 research articles on the topic.

Dr. Baoxue Yang is Vice Dean of the School of Basic Medical Sciences, and a Professor and Director of the Department of Pharmacology, Peking University. He is an executive committee member of the Chinese Pharmacological Society and chairman of the Chinese Pharmacological Society's Nephropharmacology Division. He is also chairman of the Lucid Ganoderma Division, China Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Prof. Yang's research focuses on drug discovery, nephropharmacology and medicinal use of Ganoderma lucidum. He has published more than 160 articles in these fields and holds seven patents.