Lion's Mane by Lost Empire Herbs

Biohacker Review: A Neurogenesis Unleashing Nootropic Mushroom

I used Lost Empire Herb's 8:1 Dual Extract Lion's Mane for about a month. It adds a pleasant earthy taste to my morning cup of steaming coffee.

• It has a subtle Nootropic effect, although as far as Adaptogens go I find Chaga or Rhodiola more stimulating. After taking it I found myself in a productive, focused headspace.
• I'm thankful to have Lion's Mane in my war chest of immuno-fortifying natural herbs, taking it I managed to avoid getting the sniffles during the cold, dry Eastern European winter here in Bulgaria.
• I can't speak much to its Neurogenesis effects, I suspect I'd have to take it for longer for these effects to become apparent.

 Summary of Lion's Mane Science

Nine scientific papers have been published about it in the past year which I'll summarize...

The most recent published paper out of the University of Hong Kong focuses on its therapeutic potential in treating depression

Although antidepressant effects of [Lion's Mane] have not been validated and compared to the conventional antidepressants, based on the neurotrophic and neurogenic pathophysiology of depression, [Lion's Mane] may be a potential alternative medicine for the treatment of depression.

A Malaysian study suggests that it's a neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory agent in neuron-glia environment.

A Chinese study did a genetic analysis of its bioactive metabolites that have anticancer, immunomodulating, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antihypertensive, antidiabetic and neuroprotective properties.

A 13-week Taiwanese animal study gave it to rats and concluded that it was highly safe and there was an absence of toxicological effects in all the rats during the investigation period. 

Another animal study established its anti-bacterial effect against the superbug H. pylori

Natural products are sources for exploratory development of new agents to combat the gastric pathogen Helicobacter pylori. Some edible fungi, such as the lion's mane mushroom, have been used for several thousand years to treat digestive diseases.

A 2-month Italian animal study found that [Lion's Mane] increased general locomotor activity but had no effect on spatial memory. It also notes that

We previously determined that oral supplementation with [Lion's Mane] results in significant improvements in novelty-seeking behavior and novel object recognition in mice.

So Lion's Mane might make you a better salsa dancer, but if you want to improve your spatial memory, I would recommend Dual N-Back brain training.

A German study speaks to its effects on BDNF and NGF

We found that erinacines act on [Brain-derived neurotrophic factor], which is a neurotrophic factor that has been reported recently by us to be induced by the corallocins, but as well on [nerve growth factor] expression...

Check out this detailed meta-analysis of the scientific evidence for Lion's Mane

Lion's Mane

Category: Nootropic Ingredients

Purity is a concern with Nutraceuticals

Nutraceuticals come from the natural world, they tend to absorb the toxins in the environment around them, making many of the herbal supplements that you might find possibly Iatrogenic - they may actually do you more harm than good. This is why I wouldn't buy any old Lion's Mane that I found on store shelves or online, especially if it's cheap. I enthusiastically recommend Lost Empire Herbs as they have the highest standards in the industry for quality assurance and purity testing.

Organic Lion's Mane Dual Extract in an 8:1 proportion

According to at least one paper, an alcohol extract may be best to bring out the NGF activity of Lion’s Mane. (1) But other research disagrees with this. The science around lion’s mane mushroom is still in its infancy.

Still, that’s why we’ve made this dual extracted (meaning with both alcohol and water) lion’s mane available. Triterpenes, including the hericenones and erinacines, are known to extract better in alcohol. That’s not to say that our other extract isn’t helpful, just that this one MAY be better, especially for the neurological benefits.

In addition to using both alcohol and water, this is an 8:1 extract meaning it is eight times as powerful. Of course, it started with the same quality, organic real lion’s mane mushrooms, and not the mycelium.