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OfflineMrcloudy
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A warning about buying ground Reishi powder from Herbal suppliers. * 1
    #21327707 - 02/25/15 12:07 PM (9 years, 2 months ago)
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Hello, I was recently sent some ground reishi powder that was purchased by this fellow from an online herbal shop. It was sold as Red reishi powder, but it had a name Ganoderma siense, which is not, or ever was a taxon in Ganoderma.

This man said that his doctor was concerned about him and his family taking reishi, and that some liver compound was higher in one of this mans children. The doctor blamed it on the reishi.

I received the powder and began doing microscopy on it to find that it was about 50/50 fungal and PLANT matter.The smell of the powder is more reminiscent of a spice rack with ginger, nutmeg, etc. than to Ganoderma powder. It took me quite some time but eventually I was able to determine that the fungi used was in fact Ganoderma, but not very much of it.










There were bits and pieces of hyphae mixed in with these much larger cells, you can see them out of focus in one of the photos. I was able to find a very scant number of spores to confirm that Ganoderma was used based on the spore morphology. This powder I believe was purchased in bulk from China and assumed to be pure. I reccomend caution when purchasing powdered Ganoderma even from companies within the US, unless you can verify that the mushrooms were grown here. Really if you want reishi you should grow it yourself or buy whole conks.

I will attach a PDF about Ganoderma powder and liver damage.


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10 different Ganoderma species from across the USA

AMU

MrCloudys guide to North American GanodermaUpdated A rough guide to North American Ganoderma species, with an emphasis on the laccate species.

Edited by Mrcloudy (02/25/15 12:08 PM)

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OfflineMrcloudy
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Re: A warning about buying ground Reishi powder from Herbal suppliers. [Re: Mrcloudy]
    #21327736 - 02/25/15 12:14 PM (9 years, 2 months ago)

It was impossible for me to determine what plants were used and even what specific species of Ganoderma was used. I would consider this powder to be counterfeit, it may have some Ganoderma, but without knowing the species it is not worth the risk. Especially not knowing what plants were used.


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10 different Ganoderma species from across the USA

AMU

MrCloudys guide to North American GanodermaUpdated A rough guide to North American Ganoderma species, with an emphasis on the laccate species.

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InvisibleMrGiraffe

Registered: 04/04/14
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Re: A warning about buying ground Reishi powder from Herbal suppliers. [Re: Mrcloudy]
    #21327847 - 02/25/15 12:39 PM (9 years, 2 months ago)

:youthemandawg:
Good info from the resident Reishi man! 
If you end up getting a hold of those Nepal/Himalayan ganoderma species, I'd love to work out some kind of trade!


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InvisibleJumpingfish
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Re: A warning about buying ground Reishi powder from Herbal suppliers. [Re: MrGiraffe]
    #21328066 - 02/25/15 01:17 PM (9 years, 2 months ago)

That's great info.  Hopefully one day the FDA will actually regulate supplements in the US at least.

Also, my girlfriend's mother is from Taiwan.  Last month, she gave me a bag of "ling-jer" coffee (the way to pronounce lingzhi) because her husband bought it absentmindedly.  She said anything labeled lingzhi from china is a fake and bad.  So I for some stupid reason drank it anyway daily for about 3 weeks until gone.  I did have several minor stomach issues throughout that time.  It tasted like dusty funk coffee, very different than that nice bitter freshly dried Reishi tea.  Ooops.  Hopefully it wont be long term damaging.

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Offlineknomadic_niki
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Re: A warning about buying ground Reishi powder from Herbal suppliers. [Re: Jumpingfish]
    #21328112 - 02/25/15 01:23 PM (9 years, 2 months ago)

Whoa, that is good information. that company should be sued by the damaged party and reported to the fda. do you have the name of the company they were using?


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Edited by knomadic_niki (02/25/15 01:24 PM)

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InvisibleJumpingfish
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Re: A warning about buying ground Reishi powder from Herbal suppliers. [Re: knomadic_niki]
    #21328146 - 02/25/15 01:29 PM (9 years, 2 months ago)

There's a law in the fda against regulating herbal supplements since 1994.  I don't think you can even sue a supplement company even if you get sick and die from their product.  It's ridiculous the way governments get bought off.

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InvisibleMrGiraffe

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Re: A warning about buying ground Reishi powder from Herbal suppliers. [Re: Jumpingfish]
    #21328191 - 02/25/15 01:37 PM (9 years, 2 months ago)

That's part of the reason they all have the "These Statements Have Not Been Approved by the FDA" on the bottle.  I saw a news article within the last month that said most supplements don't even contain nearly the amount of the specified supplement on the label.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/herbal-supplements-targeted-by-new-york-attorney-general/


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InvisibleMrGiraffe

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Re: A warning about buying ground Reishi powder from Herbal suppliers. [Re: MrGiraffe]
    #21328201 - 02/25/15 01:38 PM (9 years, 2 months ago)

The investigation found supplements, including echinacea, ginseng, St. John's wort, garlic, ginkgo biloba and saw palmetto, were contaminated with substances including rice, beans, pine, citrus, asparagus, primrose, wheat, houseplant and wild carrot. In many cases, unlisted contaminants were the only plant material found in the product samples.


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OfflineMrcloudy
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Re: A warning about buying ground Reishi powder from Herbal suppliers. [Re: MrGiraffe]
    #21328646 - 02/25/15 02:59 PM (9 years, 2 months ago)

I don't know that there is really any damage that was done by it, without knowing the ingredients it is impossible to know just how it effects the people who drink it.

I think it is wise to stay away from herbal powders from China in general.

I Emailed the company a few days ago trying to get some info on where they purchased their powdered reishi. At the very least I think they should be reprimanded for false advertising. Ganoderma siense is not a real fungus. So right off the bat they aren't selling what they claim to be.


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10 different Ganoderma species from across the USA

AMU

MrCloudys guide to North American GanodermaUpdated A rough guide to North American Ganoderma species, with an emphasis on the laccate species.

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Offlineleschampignons
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Re: A warning about buying ground Reishi powder from Herbal suppliers. [Re: Mrcloudy]
    #21329969 - 02/25/15 07:24 PM (9 years, 2 months ago)

Last paragraph says it all:

"It is traditional to boil Ganoderma lucidum for ingestion
without involving additional preparation. Ready-made
products of Ganoderma lucidum either in form of powder
or tablets are now available for general consumption. These
different formulations of products usually required addition
of other ingredients, which can be potentially toxic to the
liver. For our patient, she initially took Ganoderma lucidum
by boiling the herb for one year. The liver toxicity occurred 1
month after she started to take a ready-made powder
formulation of Ganoderma lucidum. The cause of the liver
toxicity was likely due to the toxic effect of the powder
formulation of Ganoderma lucidum because of the following
reasons: (1) The liver derangement started after the change
of the formulation of Ganoderma lucidum; (2) The liver
biochemistry showed gradual and continuous improvement
upon withdrawal of the offending drug; (3) The features of
the liver biopsy were most compatible with drug-induced
liver damage; and (4) All the common possible causes of the
liver derangement were excluded. To our knowledge, this is
the first reported case of liver toxicity due to the intake of
powder form of Ganoderma lucidum. The liver toxicity is
most likely to be due to the ingredients of the powder
formulation since the addition of other plants or ingredients
in the preparation of Chinese herbal medicines is very
common. However, we were unable to identify the
additional substances. But other possibilities, such as an
inadvertent change in the dose of Ganoderma lucidum
associated with the change in formulation and different
bioavailability of the new formulation cannot be ruled out.

:thumbdown:    Make sure to know what you're buying!


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OfflineNatures medicine
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Re: A warning about buying ground Reishi powder from Herbal suppliers. [Re: leschampignons]
    #21377459 - 03/08/15 09:34 AM (9 years, 2 months ago)

This is kind of a big deal...

Did any of you guys that ingest Reishi get some labs done after reading this article?  I have been taking a supplement grown by Paul Stamets, which went for 40 bucks a bottle. I am waiting on my LC to come in the mail, so I can start my grow. In the month I have been taking Reishi, I have not seen any signs of liver damage.


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OfflineMrcloudy
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Re: A warning about buying ground Reishi powder from Herbal suppliers. [Re: Natures medicine]
    #21377688 - 03/08/15 10:44 AM (9 years, 2 months ago)

I would only be concerned about using powdered reishi from China, though it would be very good to know what effects the consumption of any Ganoderma that is being consumed would be since there are many different species out there being consumed.

Chinese Ganoderma if whole and unadulterated would be fine though, it is the most studied Ganoderma and is apparently the highest in medicinal compounds. But in the powder you do not know what you are getting, could be anything as shown by my microscopy.

The company never responded, I asked around and DNA testing of the powder would apparently be prohibitively expensive given its unknown contents, with possibly more than one plant mixed in with the unknown Ganoderma and possibly other fungi. I think the trouble would be in isolating multiple single organisms from a highly homogenized mix.  So for now the identity of the powders content is unknown, I think a similar powder was the cause of the Liver damage reported in that PDF. 

More research definitely should be done because at least one study found a potentially hepatoxic compound in one tropical Ganoderma species, I forget which one, not a widely cultivated species, and they tested its toxicity on brine shrimp so the results are unknown when scaled to humans.


--------------------

10 different Ganoderma species from across the USA

AMU

MrCloudys guide to North American GanodermaUpdated A rough guide to North American Ganoderma species, with an emphasis on the laccate species.

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OfflineNatures medicine
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Re: A warning about buying ground Reishi powder from Herbal suppliers. [Re: Mrcloudy]
    #21377704 - 03/08/15 10:50 AM (9 years, 2 months ago)

Have you seen any changes good/bad with your Reishi consumption?


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OfflineMrcloudy
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Re: A warning about buying ground Reishi powder from Herbal suppliers. [Re: Natures medicine]
    #21377776 - 03/08/15 11:17 AM (9 years, 2 months ago)

Oddly enough given my fondness for the mushroom I don't take that much of it. I was taking it for a while to help with allergies as it seems to have an antihistamine effect. I am sure there are others on this board that take much more. Many people report feeling much better but it can be hard to distinguish if this is a placebo since they are fully aware they are taking the mushroom.

Which is why lab reports across a large selection of users would be pretty interesting to see what effect it has on the liver.


--------------------

10 different Ganoderma species from across the USA

AMU

MrCloudys guide to North American GanodermaUpdated A rough guide to North American Ganoderma species, with an emphasis on the laccate species.

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OfflineNatures medicine
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Re: A warning about buying ground Reishi powder from Herbal suppliers. [Re: Mrcloudy]
    #21377806 - 03/08/15 11:25 AM (9 years, 2 months ago)

Once I get on a regular dose, I'll get blood testing done. I want to do this anyway so I can see my cholesterol levels, and other lab values.  My main reason for wanting to take Reishi, is because it lowers blood pressure, and stress. I don't have High BP, but it runs in the family. Just taking precautions. If it ends up being detrimental, I'll let you guys know.


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Offlineknomadic_niki
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Re: A warning about buying ground Reishi powder from Herbal suppliers. [Re: Natures medicine]
    #21380064 - 03/08/15 07:38 PM (9 years, 2 months ago)

cool, that would be very interesting. hard to prove that the reishi is the only contributing factor but if you try to maintain a consistent diet and lifestyle, any changes could be assumed....


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OfflineNatures medicine
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Re: A warning about buying ground Reishi powder from Herbal suppliers. [Re: knomadic_niki]
    #21380519 - 03/08/15 09:18 PM (9 years, 2 months ago)

I live a pretty active, healthy life style.  Ill have a drink every 2-3 weeks.  Besides that, I don't smoke, or partake in any chemical festivities that will hurt my body.  I guess it would be better to see the doctors first to get some lab values before the reishi regiment.


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OfflineMrcloudy
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Re: A warning about buying ground Reishi powder from Herbal suppliers. [Re: Natures medicine]
    #21380539 - 03/08/15 09:22 PM (9 years, 2 months ago)

A control is always best.


--------------------

10 different Ganoderma species from across the USA

AMU

MrCloudys guide to North American GanodermaUpdated A rough guide to North American Ganoderma species, with an emphasis on the laccate species.

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