Compound or practice · Supplement
Lion's Mane
A mushroom with intriguing nerve-growth mechanisms and a couple of small, promising human cognition trials — early days.
- Overall grade
- Grade C
- Last revised
- 2
- graded outcomes
- 0
- references listed
A structured monograph in Prometheus's bundled library. Its grades are the monograph's own reading of the evidence, not a peer-reviewed review.
2 at grade C — 2 graded rows
What is known
Each outcome with its grade (how strong the evidence is, A to D), the size of the effect where the entry records one, and how often studies agree.
- Cognition (mild impairment)Evidence grade C
Small trials
Smalllow
- Mood / anxietyEvidence grade C
Preliminary
Smalllow
What is uncertain
Read off the same rows as above. Nothing here is added that the entry does not itself record.
- Thin evidence: Cognition (mild impairment) (grade C); Mood / anxiety (grade C).
The evidence in words
What it is
Lion's mane (Hericium erinaceus) is a culinary-medicinal mushroom containing hericenones and erinacines investigated for nerve and cognitive support.
How it works
Its compounds stimulate nerve growth factor (NGF) synthesis in lab models, a plausible route to neuroprotection and cognitive support — though NGF induction in humans from oral dosing is unproven.
What the evidence shows
Human evidence is limited to small trials suggesting improved cognition in mild impairment and reduced anxiety/irritability, plus preclinical nerve-regeneration data. Genuinely interesting, genuinely preliminary. Safe and food-derived.
How to use it
500–1,000 mg of a fruiting-body extract 1–3×/day; product quality (fruiting body vs mycelium-on-grain) varies enormously.
Safety & interactions
Well tolerated; rare allergic/skin reactions reported.
Bottom line
Promising and safe, but the human data are thin. A reasonable experiment for cognition; not an established nootropic. Buy fruiting-body extract.
How it is used
As the entry records it, from the studies it summarises. Not a recommendation for you — doses that suit a trial population may not suit you.
- Standard
- 500–1,000 mg fruiting-body extract, 1–3×/day.
Related reading
Entries that share this one's tags or conditions.
- Lion's Mane for Cognition (mild impairment)Evidence grade C — Small trialsEvidence grade C
- Lion's Mane for Mood / anxietyEvidence grade C — PreliminaryEvidence grade C
- Lion's Mane: dosage and how to take it500–1,000 mg fruiting-body extract, 1–3×/day.Evidence grade C
- Lion's Mane: side effects, safety & interactionsWell tolerated; rare allergic/skin reactions reported.Evidence grade C
Sources
This entry lists no references of its own.
Last revised . A grade is this entry's reading of the evidence, not medical advice.