Culinary-medicinal mushrooms may be developed as safe and healthy dietary supplements for brain and cognitive health Mushrooms offer great potential because of the complexity of their chemical contents and different varieties of bioactivities. Available evidence suggests that mushrooms exhibit anti-oxidant, anti-tumor, anti-virus, anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, immune modulating, anti-microbial, and anti-diabetic activities Some mushrooms may improve memory and cognition functions. Such mushrooms include Hericium erinaceus, Ganoderma lucidum, Sarcodon spp., Antrodia camphorata, Pleurotus giganteus, Lignosus rhinocerotis, Grifola frondosa, and many more. Reishi - Ganoderma lucidum Oral administration of the polysaccharides and water extract from G. lucidum promoted neural progenitor cell (NPC) proliferation to enhance neurogenesis and alleviated cognitive deficits - it could serve as a regenerative therapeutic agent for the treatment of cognitive decline associated with neurodegenerative diseases. It can enhance immunity and antioxidant activities G. lucidum mushroom have numerous health properties to treat diseased conditions such as hepatopathy, chronic hepatitis, nephritis, hypertension, hyperlipemia, arthritis, neurasthenia, insomnia, bronchitis, asthma, gastric ulcers, atherosclerosis, leukopenia, diabetes, anorexia, and cancer. G. lucidum extracts significantly inhibited the production of microglia-derived proinflammatory and cytotoxic factors (NO, TNF-a, and IL-1b) suggesting that G. lucidum is a promising agent in deterring inflammation-induced CNS disorders Regular administration of the Reishi suspension improved the energy supply to the brain cortex and decreased the prevalence of inhibitory neurotransmitters that are characteristic 1 of alcohol consumption. The alcohol-induced increase in liver proliferation was significantly suppressed by regular administration of the G. lucidum water suspension. It has anticonvulsant and neuroprotective effects, alleviates oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction, the water soluble polysaccharides showing neuroprotective effects and has nerve growth factor-like neuronal survival-promoting and brain-derived neurotrophic factor-like neuronal survival-promoting compounds, it protects against the immunological effects of excitotoxicity Lion's Mane Hericium erinaceus is a medicinal mushroom capable of inducing a large number of modulatory effects on human physiology ranging from the strengthening of the immune system to the improvement of cognitive functions. In mice, dietary supplementation with H. erinaceus prevents the impairment of components of memory in an Alzheimer model. It may serve as a functional food in the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's disease and other conditions [1,2,3] Recently, much attention has been given to medicinal mushrooms’ neurotrophic effects and stimulation of nerve growth factor (NGF) synthesis in the brain [4] "HE consists of various bioactive compounds including polysaccharides, terpenoids, and lectins, which are known to have neuroprotective, antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer effects. In particular, erinacine, one of the diterpeniods, is reported to facilitate nerve growth factor (NGF) expression and secretion. Given that NGF plays pleiotropic roles in diverse brain diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, HE could alleviate memory deficits in animal models as well as in human patients with Alzheimer’s disease." Hericenones and erinacines isolated from the medicinal mushroom are considered the main actives. HE may provide neuroprotective candidates for treating or preventing neurodegenerative diseases.[5] Increases in hippocampal neurogenesis have been reported in parallel to antidepressant and anxiolytic effects [6]. Human studies: Improvement of cognitive functions by oral intake of Hericium erinaceus https://doi.org/10.2220/biomedres.40.125 Therapeutic Potential of Hericium erinaceus for Depressive Disorder https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21010163 There is also the possibility that medicinal mushrooms may promote peripheral nerve and central regeneration after injury through the enhancement of NGF production. They are expected to have a regenerative action on the injured tissues 2 H. erinaceus has an anti-obesity effect [7]. Review: https://examine.com/supplements/yamabushitake/ [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27544998 [2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28115973 , [3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27350344 [4] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26481911 [5] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27809277 [6] https://doi.org/10.1089/jmf.2017.4006 [7] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28181079 3 4