- Four-week supplementation with a Lion's mane and Reishi blend reduced anxiety (GAD-7) versus Lion's mane alone, with significant effects at Day 28.
- Secondary anxiety (HADS) and stress (PSS) measures showed trend-level benefits for the blend in exploratory analyses, requiring cautious interpretation.
- All groups improved across psychological measures, suggesting participatory effects; larger, adequately powered trials must confirm efficacy and refine dose, duration and composition.
Front Nutr. 2026 Oct 20;13:1887408. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2026.1887408. eCollection 2026.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Functional mushrooms, particularly Lion’s mane (Hericium erinaceus) and Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum), are increasingly marketed for cognitive and mood-related benefits, despite limited evidence to date.
OBJECTIVES: This trial examined the effects of four-week supplementation of Lion’s mane and a Lion’s mane and Reishi mushroom blend on mood and wellbeing in Gen Z women experiencing subjective stress and/or anxiety.
METHODS: A preliminary sort-and-rank study was conducted to identify priority outcomes for the population. Following this, a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-groups trial was conducted. Eighty-four young women (aged 18-26) received either 1.8 g powdered Lion’s mane, 1.8 g powdered Lion’s mane and Reishi mushroom blend, or placebo in capsulated form for 28-days. Mood and wellbeing were assessed at baseline, weekly during the intervention period and at Day 42 (follow-up). Qualitative data regarding subjective changes to wellbeing were collected on Days 28 and 42.
RESULTS: Analysis indicated that the mushroom blend resulted in lower anxiety (GAD-7) than Lion’s Mane, overall (p = 0.018) and at Day 28 (p = 0.003). Following FDR correction, secondary interactions for anxiety (HADS) and stress (PSS) were attenuated to trend-level, exploratory post hoc tests suggested a pattern of benefits of the mushroom blend over Lion’s mane and placebo at various timepoints (p = 0.001-0.043), though these should be interpreted cautiously rather than confirmatory. Qualitative data supported this pattern. Significant improvements across all psychological measures were observed regardless of treatment allocation, suggesting participatory benefits alongside intervention effects.
CONCLUSION: Results indicated that 28-day supplementation with the mushroom-blend improved the primary anxiety outcome (GAD-7), relative to Lion’s mane alone. Trend-level findings on secondary anxiety (HADS) and stress (PSS) measures point to a similar pattern of benefit over both comparators, but require confirmation in adequately powered trials. This trial contributes to a growing field investigating functional mushrooms, however, to further understand efficacy effects, substantial work is required to determine key methodological questions including dosage, intervention duration and blend composition.
CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier NCT06406946.
PMID:42978868 | PMC:PMC13727649 | DOI:10.3389/fnut.2026.1887408
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