Wachtel-Galor S., Szeto Y.T., Tomlinson B., Benzie I.F.F. Ganoderma lucidum ('Lingzhi'); acute and short-term biomarker response to supplementation. Int J Food Sci Nutr. 2004;55(1):75–83.
Rationale
Reishi is marketed as antioxidant, yet human antioxidant data were absent. This study measured the acute pharmacokinetic-style response and a short daily-intake window.
Methods
A double-blind placebo-controlled crossover: n=10 healthy volunteers in the chronic phase (0.72 g/day for 10 days) and n=7 in an acute sub-study (single 1.1 or 3.3 g doses). Plasma FRAP antioxidant capacity, urinary antioxidant capacity, α-tocopherol, lipids and DNA-damage markers were measured serially.
Results
Acutely, 1.1 g reishi raised plasma FRAP by ~23 µmol/L peaking at 90 minutes, and urinary antioxidant capacity by ~29% over 3 hours. Over 10 days, α-tocopherol and urinary antioxidant capacity rose — but lipids and DNA-damage markers did not move.
Conclusions
Reishi produces a measurable acute antioxidant rise in blood and urine — transient pharmacokinetic evidence that its antioxidants are bioavailable — while the 10-day window showed no functional downstream shift.
Worth noting
An acute FRAP spike proves absorption, not benefit — this distinction defines the whole paper. Tiny samples (n=10/7). The companion 4-week study (reishi-lingzhi-biomarkers-2004) shows the chronic side of the same story: measurable intake, unmeasurable consequence.