Beneficial Effects of Ganoderma spp. on Neurodegenerative Diseases

Abstract

The progress of medicine as well as the improvement of living conditions has increased human life expectancy. Thus, the average life span increased from 60 years at the beginning of the 20th century to even 90 years at the beginning of the 21st century. On the other hand, there are more and more patients suffering from numerous age-related neurodegenerative diseases and disorders. For example, one in three elderly people dies from some form of dementia, and millions of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s patients are registered worldwide. When patients with other neurodegenerative diseases are added to these numbers, it becomes clear that there is a need to improve existing therapies and find a new effective treatment. Since available conventional therapies only slow disease progression and have numerous side effects, there is a need for natural sources of anti-neurodegenerative agents. Species of the genus Ganoderma, valued as traditional remedies in the Far East, are a promising basis for new drugs as numerous studies have reported their exceptional neuroprotective potential. Numerous studies have reported the anti-neurodegenerative effects of Ganoderma spp. by inhibiting enzymes that cause Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. Their antioxidant, anti-neuroinflammatory, anti-amnesic, anti-epileptic, antidepressant, and neuroprotective effects after stroke have also been documented.