What Is Lion's Mane Mushroom Good For? What the Trials Found

Lion's mane (Hericium erinaceus) has been tested in people mainly for cognition. In a 16-week trial, run by a producer's laboratory, of 30 Japanese adults aged 50 to 80 with mild cognitive impairment, 3 g a day of fruiting-body powder raised scores on a cognitive rating scale compared with placebo, and the scores fell back within four weeks of stopping; in 41 healthy adults a single 1.8 g dose sped up one attention task an hour later; and four weeks of 10 g a day in 24 healthy adults changed nothing.^{1, 2, 3, 5, 7} No trial has tested lion's mane for ADHD, brain fog or as a coffee additive, and no mushroom holds an authorised health claim in Great Britain, which is a statement about the register, not proof of no effect. This page is part of our guide Do mushroom supplements work?

Sources checked on 29 October 2026.

What is lion's mane mushroom good for?

Read "good for" as "tested for". The human evidence is cognition in impaired older adults (three placebo-controlled trials; a 2025 systematic review pooled two to a 1.17-point gain on the 30-point Mini-Mental State Examination), cognition in healthy adults (three single-dose studies and one null four-week trial) and mood (three small studies), none repeated.^{1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 15} "Superfood" and "nootropic" are marketing words, not claims.

What does lion's mane do to the brain?

Mori 2009 gave 30 adults with mild cognitive impairment 3 g a day of 96% fruiting-body powder in tablets for 16 weeks: scores on the Revised Hasegawa Dementia Scale beat placebo at weeks 8, 12 and 16 and fell in the four weeks after stopping.¹ Saitsu 2019, 12 weeks of a fruiting-body supplement in 31 adults over 50: the Mini-Mental State Examination improved against placebo, two memory tests did not.² Li 2020, a 49-week pilot in mild Alzheimer's disease using about 1 g a day of mycelium standardised for erinacine A: the MMSE rose on lion's mane and a screening score fell on placebo.³ Docherty 2023 found faster Stroop performance 60 minutes after 1.8 g in 41 adults aged 18 to 45 and a non-significant stress trend at 28 days; La Monica 2023 found 1 g of extract improved reaction-time tasks, though a caffeinated tea extract did better; Grozier 2022 found 10 g a day for four weeks changed no cognitive measure in 24 adults; Surendran 2025 found a single 3 g dose of a 10:1 extract changed no overall score in 18.^{5, 6, 7, 15} Forum reports are gathered on how lion's mane makes you feel.

What does lion's mane do for the body?

Nagano 2010 gave 30 women with menopausal complaints lion's mane cookies for four weeks: the depression score fell from baseline but, against placebo, only the "insensitive" and "palpitation" items were lower. Vigna 2019 followed 77 overweight adults with mood or sleep problems for eight weeks: depression, anxiety and sleep scores improved, with no comparison group.^{8, 9} For the stomach, cholesterol, blood sugar, weight, muscle, hair and the immune system there is laboratory and animal work and no human trial; one trial found no change in metabolic flexibility, nothing has measured detoxification, parasites, infection or ageing in people.. The 2025 review lists stomach discomfort, headache and allergic reactions as the side effects to expect; lion's mane side effects has the forum reports and how to report a reaction.^{3, 4, 7, 12}

How does lion's mane work?

Hericenones in the fruiting body and erinacines in the mycelium stimulate nerve growth factor production in laboratory and animal studies; no human trial has shown lion's mane to repair nerves, regrow brain cells or undo brain damage in people.^{4, 8} The hippocampal findings in the 2025 review are rodent and cell data; its one human BDNF result is a pro-BDNF rise in the uncontrolled 77-adult study.^{4, 9}

Does lion's mane help Parkinson's disease?

No human trial has tested it. The 2016 mouse paper most often quoted for "protecting dopamine neurons" was retracted by its journal in 2021 and is not cited here. What stands is mouse, rat and fruit-fly work with an erinacine-rich mycelium, and one 80-person trial registered in Taiwan in 2020 that has published nothing; a 2023 review counts "only a limited number of clinical trials".¹⁴ No study has tested lion's mane with levodopa, rasagiline, selegiline or any other Parkinson's medicine. The NHS says complementary treatments have "no clinical evidence they're effective at controlling the symptoms" and to "check with your care team first"; the medicine table on lion's mane side effects has the row.¹³

When should you take lion's mane?

No trial has compared morning with evening, or with and without food. Mori 2009 split 3 g into three doses across the day; Docherty 2023 gave 1.8 g in one morning dose.^{1, 5} So take it daily at a time you will remember, as the trials did; a morning dose sidesteps the reports of vivid dreams, with food if it upsets your stomach.⁴

How much lion's mane should you take?

The trial doses are the only anchors: 3 g a day of fruiting-body powder in Mori 2009; 1 to 1.8 g of extract in the healthy-adult studies; 10 g a day in Grozier 2022, the null trial.^{1, 5, 6, 7} "Is 500 mg enough?": no trial has tested 500 mg of anything, and 500 mg of a 10:1 extract is not 500 mg of dried mushroom; a 500 mg capsule of 10:1 extract stands for about 5 g of mushroom, and the label says what the capsule weighs. No upper limit has been set; 10 g a day for four weeks caused no serious adverse effect in 24 people, which says nothing about years.⁷ What mushroom powder is used for explains parts, extract ratios and beta-glucan percentages.

How long does lion's mane take to work, and why might you feel nothing?

The trials measured change at 8, 12 and 16 weeks, at 12 weeks, at 49 weeks and, for the acute tasks, one to two hours after a dose.^{1, 2, 3, 5, 6} Forum reports cluster at "day two or three" for clearer thinking and "nothing after one to three months"; both fit trials of average effects: a scale moving by about a point in impaired older adults is not something a healthy adult would notice.⁴ If you feel nothing, ask the trials' questions: is the dose near 1.8 to 3 g of fruiting body or its stated equivalent, and has it been daily for 12 to 16 weeks. If it disagrees with you, stop and ask a pharmacist.

Can you eat lion's mane fresh instead of taking a supplement?

Yes; it is a food, sold fresh and as grow-at-home kits; it is not an Ayurvedic or homeopathic remedy. Fresh lion's mane is cooked like any mushroom; it is not eaten raw, and no study has compared raw, cooked or dried. The 3 g a day in Mori 2009 was dried powder; fresh mushrooms are mostly water, so the same dry weight is a far larger fresh portion, and no trial has tested fresh lion's mane.¹ Like other mushrooms it supplies some protein, fibre and B vitamins, and vitamin D only if grown or dried under UV light (are mushrooms high in vitamin D explains); it contains no caffeine and no live cultures, so it is not a stimulant, an antibiotic or a probiotic.

What we don't know

Whether lion's mane changes anything measurable in healthy adults under 50 beyond 28 days: no trial has run that long in them, and the 16-week result in 30 impaired older adults has not been replicated independently.^{1, 4, 5} Which part, dose or extract matters: untested head to head.^{1, 3, 15} Safety beyond 49 weeks, in pregnancy, in children or with any medicine: untested.^{3, 4}

Frequently asked questions

Is lion's mane illegal in the UK?

No. Wild lion's mane is protected under Schedule 8 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, so picking it is the offence, not buying or selling cultivated lion's mane.¹⁰ Dried mycelium powder was judged a novel food in a 2019 European Commission consultation.¹¹ Does lion's mane get you high covers legality in full.

Does lion's mane affect dopamine, serotonin or cortisol?

None has been measured in a human trial; the mood studies used questionnaires.^{8, 9}

Can you take lion's mane with ginkgo or ashwagandha?

No trial has tested either pair; what ginkgo biloba is good for and ashwagandha vs lion's mane carry each one's cautions.

Is lion's mane good for your stomach?

The stomach-lining work is in cells and animals; no placebo-controlled human trial exists, and stomach discomfort is its most reported side effect.⁴

Sources

1. Mori K, et al. Lion's mane (Yamabushitake) in mild cognitive impairment. Randomised placebo-controlled trial, 30 adults, 16 weeks; run by a producer's laboratory. Phytotherapy Research, 2009. PubMed 18844328.
2. Saitsu Y, et al. Cognitive functions and oral intake of Hericium erinaceus. Randomised placebo-controlled trial, 31 adults over 50, 12 weeks; funding not stated. Biomedical Research, 2019. PubMed 31413233.
3. Li IC, et al. Erinacine A-enriched mycelia in early Alzheimer's disease. Randomised placebo-controlled pilot, 68 enrolled, 49 weeks; supplier-run. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 2020. PubMed 32581767.
4. Menon A, et al. Hericium erinaceus as a supplement. Systematic review, 5 randomised and 3 pilot trials; no commercial funding. Frontiers in Nutrition, 2025. PubMed 40959699.
5. Docherty S, et al. Lion's mane, cognition, stress and mood in young adults. Randomised placebo-controlled pilot, 41 adults, 28 days; product supplied by a producer. Nutrients, 2023. PubMed 38004235.
6. La Monica MB, et al. Guayusa tea and lion's mane extracts and cognitive performance. Randomised crossover, single dose; part-funded by the tea extract's supplier. Nutrients, 2023. PubMed 38140277.
7. Grozier CD, et al. Four weeks of Hericium erinaceus and metabolic flexibility or cognition. Single-blind placebo-controlled trial, 24 adults, 4 weeks; funding not stated. International Journal of Exercise Science, 2022. PubMed 36582308.
8. Nagano M, et al. Depression and anxiety after 4 weeks of Hericium erinaceus. Randomised placebo-controlled trial, 30 women, 4 weeks; funding not stated. Biomedical Research, 2010. PubMed 20834180.
9. Vigna L, et al. Hericium erinaceus, mood and sleep in overweight adults. Uncontrolled before-and-after study, 77 adults, 8 weeks. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2019. PubMed 31118969.
10. Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, section 13 and Schedule 8. legislation.gov.uk.
11. Food Standards Agency. Novel foods guidance. food.gov.uk.
12. Food Standards Agency. How to report a food safety or hygiene issue for members of the public. gov.uk.
13. NHS. Parkinson's disease: treatment. Reviewed 3 November 2022; read 29 October 2026. nhs.uk.
14. Brandalise F, et al. Hericium erinaceus in neurodegenerative diseases. Narrative review. Journal of Fungi, 2023. PubMed 37233262.
15. Surendran G, et al. A standardised Hericium erinaceus extract and cognition in healthy younger adults. Randomised placebo-controlled crossover, 18 adults, one 3 g dose; two authors employed by a drinks maker using lion's mane. Frontiers in Nutrition, 2025. PubMed 40276537.

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General information, not medical advice: with a regular medicine, pregnancy, breastfeeding or a history of panic or depression, ask a pharmacist or GP first.