Functional Mushrooms
Medicinal mushrooms used in traditional medicine and studied for their effects on immunity and cognition.
4.4Lion's Mane
A functional mushroom studied for its effect on nerve growth factor (NGF) and cognitive function — human evidence is still preliminary.
4.2Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum)
A functional mushroom with more than 2,000 years of history in Chinese and Japanese medicine, studied for its immune-modulating effects — human clinical evidence, however, remains modest and partly contradictory.
4.0Siberian Chaga (Inonotus obliquus)
A black, corky growth that parasitizes birch trees, traditionally brewed as a tea in Siberia and Scandinavia — rich in antioxidant compounds, but with practically no clinical studies in humans.
4.1Cordyceps militaris
A laboratory-cultivated functional mushroom — this is the species behind almost every 'cordyceps' supplement sold today. High, stable cordycepin content, but evidence for improved physical performance in humans is still mixed.
3.6Cordyceps sinensis
A wild, Himalayan insect-killing fungus more expensive than gold — legendary in traditional Chinese medicine, but practically absent from the honest supplement market. Most products sold under this name are not the real species.
4.5Turkey Tail
The mushroom behind PSK and PSP — the only fungal polysaccharides registered in Japan as drugs supporting chemotherapy. Among the most solid clinical evidence of any functional mushroom, but this is NOT a standalone cancer therapy.
4.1Almond Mushroom (Agaricus blazei)
A mushroom from the Brazilian forests studied mainly for immune modulation and blood-sugar support — human evidence is mixed and preliminary, despite the supplement's considerable popularity.
4.3Shiitake
A culinary-functional mushroom rich in lentinan and beta-glucans, studied clinically for immune modulation and lipid profile — one of the best-researched functional mushrooms on the market.
4.1Maitake (Hen of the Woods)
A functional mushroom also known as 'Hen of the Woods,' studied mainly for immune modulation (D-fraction) in oncology and, more preliminarily, for carbohydrate metabolism — evidence in healthy people remains limited.
3.8Poria (Fu Ling)
A sclerotium-forming fungus present in Chinese medicine formulas as Fu Ling for centuries — as a standalone supplement, though, it has very modest, indirect clinical data in humans.
4.3Tremella (Snow Fungus)
A jelly-like mushroom trendy in cosmetics as a 'vegan alternative to hyaluronic acid' — real clinical trials in humans, however, mostly involve oral supplementation and endpoints other than skin hydration.
3.6Umbrella Polypore (Zhu Ling)
A mushroom present in Chinese medicine recipes as Zhu Ling for 2,500 years — a potent diuretic. Modern research on the isolated polysaccharide PPS focuses mainly on hepatitis B and anticancer mechanisms in a test tube, not standalone supplementation.
4.1Mesima (Phellinus linteus)
A tree-growing mushroom from Korea and Japan, sold commercially as Mesima — one of the few functional mushrooms with real, randomized clinical trials in humans assessing effects on immunity, not just in-vitro data.
4.0Sanghuang (Sanghuangporus sanghuang)
A prized 'golden' mushroom from East Asia that grows on mulberry trees, studied for antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory activity — human evidence is currently almost nonexistent, and the species' taxonomy itself was confusing for decades.
4.3Antrodia camphorata (Niu Chang Zhi)
A mushroom endemic to Taiwan, growing exclusively on an endangered camphor tree, traditionally used for the liver — one of the few RCTs in humans shows a promising, if modest, improvement in liver enzymes.
3.7Split Gill (Schizophyllan)
One of the most common mushroom species on Earth, whose polysaccharide (SPG) is a registered injectable drug in Japan used as an adjunct to radiotherapy for cervical cancer. In Poland and the EU it is neither a registered drug nor a dietary supplement.
4.1Cauliflower Mushroom (Sparassis crispa)
A rare, prized forest mushroom with one of the highest documented beta-glucan contents — in Poland it's mainly foraged for the table, while Japanese research into its effects on immunity and blood sugar rests almost entirely on animal models.
4.1Birch Polypore (Fomitopsis betulina)
A bracket fungus common on birches in Poland, known for its discovery alongside Ötzi's remains — historically fascinating, but still not clinically confirmed as a supplement.
3.7Red-Belted Conk (Fomitopsis pinicola)
A common perennial bracket fungus on conifers in Polish forests — the subject of laboratory research into triterpenes, but with no supplement market or human clinical studies.
3.9Artist's Conk (Ganoderma applanatum)
A common, woody bracket fungus famous for the fact that you can draw on it — studied in the lab for polysaccharides and triterpenes, but not a popular dietary supplement.
4.2Tinder Fungus (Fomes fomentarius)
A legendary bracket fungus and Ötzi's companion — for millennia the primary raw material for fire-starting in Europe, today mostly a historical and ethnobotanical topic rather than a dietary supplement.
3.3Resinous Polypore (Ischnoderma resinosum)
A rare bracket fungus that decomposes dead hardwood — the scientific data is limited to a single laboratory study, and the species doesn't exist as a supplement or food product.
4.0Beefsteak Fungus (Fistulina hepatica)
A distinctive, 'bleeding' mushroom that looks like raw meat — prized more as a culinary curiosity than a supplement; preliminary chemical studies point to a very high content of phenolic compounds.
4.1Enokitake (Flammulina velutipes)
A popular culinary mushroom, also known in English-speaking countries as Velvet Foot, studied in the lab for its immunomodulatory protein FIP-fve — on the market almost exclusively as food.
3.9Nameko (Pholiota nameko)
A small, slimy culinary mushroom popular in Japanese cuisine, including in miso soup — its polysaccharides are being studied preliminarily for immunomodulatory and anti-glycation effects.
4.3Oyster Mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus)
One of the most popular edible mushrooms in Poland, containing a natural compound structurally similar to lovastatin — studied mainly for its effects on lipid profile and immunity.
4.1King Oyster Mushroom (Pleurotus eryngii)
The largest species in the oyster mushroom genus, prized in the kitchen for its meaty stem — studied in early research, mostly in animal models, for effects on lipid metabolism and blood sugar.
4.2Elm Oyster Mushroom (Hypsizygus ulmarius)
A culinary mushroom closely related to shimeji, studied in the lab and in animals for antioxidant, hepatoprotective, and blood-sugar-supporting effects — with no clinical studies in humans.
4.4Shimeji (Hypsizygus tessellatus)
A popular culinary mushroom of Asian cuisine (bunashimeji/bunapishimeji), rich in beta-glucans and indole compounds — in vitro and animal studies suggest antioxidant and immunomodulatory effects.
4.1Chestnut Mushroom (Pholiota adiposa)
A culinary mushroom known in traditional Chinese and Korean medicine, with a relatively larger body of research into its polysaccharides' antioxidant and anticancer effects in vitro and in animal studies.
3.9Hon-shimeji (Lyophyllum shimeji)
A wild-growing, mycorrhizal 'true shimeji' from Japan and Scandinavian pine forests — genetically and ecologically distinct from the cultivated bunashimeji sold under the same name.
4.2Wood Ear (Auricularia auricula-judae)
A jelly fungus popular in Asian cuisine, growing in Poland mainly on elder — studied since the 1980s for anticoagulant and antiplatelet effects relevant to people taking blood-thinning medication.
4.1Black Fungus (Auricularia polytricha, Mu Er)
The black "mu er" mushroom, a staple of Chinese cuisine — known since 1980, when it was described in the New England Journal of Medicine, for its strong effect on platelet aggregation.
3.8Ganoderma tsugae (Hemlock Reishi)
A North American relative of reishi that grows on eastern hemlock — popular among herbalists in the US and Canada as 'hemlock reishi,' but with a much thinner body of scientific research.
3.2Ganoderma australe
One of the most common tree-dwelling fungi in the world from the genus Ganoderma, known in the UK as the 'Southern Bracket' — despite its wide distribution, it has practically no dedicated clinical research or presence on the supplement market.
3.4Ganoderma resinaceum
A European relative of reishi, recognizable by the resinous droplets it secretes from the growing edge of its fruiting body. Historically confused with reishi, but with its own, modest body of phytochemical research.
4.0Ganoderma lingzhi (Red Reishi)
A species formally split off in 2012 from the Ganoderma lucidum complex — it, not the European reishi, is what's actually behind most Asian products sold as 'reishi' or 'lingzhi,' including the 'Red Reishi' label.
3.8Ganoderma sinense (Black Reishi)
A rare, dark-purple bracket fungus known in Chinese medicine as 'Zi Zhi' — unlike Ganoderma lingzhi, this is a genetically distinct species, with its own, smaller body of research: a chemotherapy-support drug registered in China, plus preliminary data on protecting the heart from anthracycline cardiotoxicity.
3.8Willow bracket (Phellinus igniarius)
A common, hard bracket fungus that mainly parasitizes willows, with documented traditional use as tinder and a brewed drink among Siberian and North American peoples — but with no significant clinical studies in humans.
3.6Phellinus baumii (Sanghuang)
An East Asian bracket fungus from the confusing 'sanghuang' species complex, studied mainly in China and Korea for anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer polysaccharides in vitro — essentially absent from Western markets.
4.0Shaggy Bracket (Inonotus hispidus)
A rare, striking orange-rust bracket fungus in Poland, parasitizing mainly apple and ash trees; a relative of chaga with limited, mostly Chinese, in vitro research into anticancer and antioxidant compounds.
3.4Clustered Bracket (Inonotus cuticularis)
A bracket fungus rare in Poland, growing mainly on beech trees, chemically characterized in essentially just one Iranian screening study — otherwise, practically no scientific data exists on this species.
3.6Hairy Bracket (Trametes hirsuta)
A common bracket fungus closely related to turkey tail, valued in biotechnology as a laccase producer. No clinical trials in humans and no presence on the supplement market.
3.9Downy Bracket (Trametes pubescens)
A rarer relative of turkey tail, listed on Poland's red list of threatened fungi. It has a handful of laboratory studies and one animal study on a fruiting-body extract behind it, but zero clinical trials in humans.
3.5Ochre Bracket (Trametes ochracea)
A species nearly identical to turkey tail, often mistaken for it in the field. It has a single laboratory study on a fruiting-body extract behind it — no clinical trials whatsoever.
3.8Birch Mazegill (Lenzites betulina)
A mushroom that looks like a turkey tail bracket but has true gills instead of pores underneath its cap. A handful of real laboratory studies (anticancer and antioxidant, in vitro), zero clinical studies in humans.
3.4Mossy Maze Polypore (Cerrena unicolor)
A common European bracket fungus that decomposes dead hardwood, known in biotechnology mainly as a source of the enzyme laccase — with no culinary or supplement history and no studies in humans.
3.1Schizophyllum radiatum
A rare relative of the split gill, practically indistinguishable by eye — in the scientific literature it appears almost exclusively in the context of molecular taxonomy and rare respiratory-tract infections, not as a supplement.
3.7Grifola gargal
A wild edible mushroom from Patagonia's southern beech forests, prized locally for its almond aroma. One very small human pilot study suggests an effect on triglyceride levels, but the evidence is scant.
3.3Grifola sordulenta
A Patagonian 'sister' species to Grifola gargal, growing on koihue and prized locally for its culinary qualities — but, unlike gargal, with practically no research in humans or animals at all.
4.5Beta-glucans
Polysaccharides responsible for most of the documented immunomodulatory properties of medicinal mushrooms, oats, and barley — the common denominator behind dozens of species described in this knowledge base.
4.2Chaga (Birch Canker)
A hard, black growth found on birch trunks, traditionally brewed as a tea in Russia and Eastern Europe — today studied mainly for its exceptionally high content of antioxidant compounds.