Reishi

Reishi is an adaptogenic mushroom ranked at the top of the classical Chinese pharmacopoeia among the "superior" tonics. Taoist tradition associates her with calm of mind, sleep and longevity; studies describe her beta-glucans and triterpenes, without any promise of effect. INFUSE presents her as a ground companion, not a remedy.

Because her two families of compounds do not release in the same solvent — beta-glucans are water-soluble, triterpenes only alcohol-soluble. A simple herbal tea leaves about half the mushroom in the material. Double extraction (water + alcohol) captures both. The INFUSE powder extract is a dual 15:1, fruiting body, ≥20% beta-glucans and ≥4% triterpenes.

The fruiting body is the visible, woody mushroom, rich in triterpenes and beta-glucans. Mycelium grown on grain (rice, oat) is often diluted by the cereal starch and poorer in triterpenes. INFUSE works the fruiting body exclusively, without mycelium or filler — it is the part that traditional Chinese and Japanese medicine has documented.

Bitterness comes from triterpenes (the ganoderic acids). In Chinese tradition, the more bitter the reishi, the more she is held as vigorous — bitterness is read as a marker of quality. A commercial reishi without bitterness has often lost her triterpenes, by failed extraction or dilution. Tradition softens her with honey, or associates her with liquorice, jujube, goji berries.

The traditional Chinese way is the long decoction. Gently simmer about 5 to 10 g of dried pieces in one litre of water — without boiling, boiling degrades the polysaccharides — until reduced by half. Strain and drink warm. The pieces, very woody, reinfuse several times by extending the cooking time.

Yes. Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum) is freely sold in France and the European Union as mushroom and food supplement. She is not a controlled substance.

From Siberia, in wild harvest, gathered at the heart of winter in forests far from human activity. Most reishi sold online are cultivated in greenhouses in China; INFUSE has chosen wild. Lot analysis in France. The details (harvester, lot, certification) are in process of confirmation.

Reishi is not a plant of immediate effect. Tradition and contemporary herbalists describe her as a ground mushroom, of whom we speak in weeks and months rather than hours. She is classically used in a cure of 7 to 21 days, followed by a pause, or in a long cure.

These are four complementary mushrooms. Reishi is associated with calm and deep sleep, chaga with immunity and the boreal cold, lion's mane with cognitive terrain, cordyceps with breath and energy. Many keep them together as a mycelial stack rather than choosing. INFUSE offers them separately.