Abstract
In traditional Chinese medicine, Ganoderma (Ganodermataceae), a genus of medicinal mushrooms, has been employed as an herbal medicine for more than 2000 years. This chapter reviews some of the anticancer research published for Ganoderma, and its bioactive chemical constituents in detail. Of all the Ganoderma species only two, G. lucidum (W. Curtis: Fr.) P. Karst and G. sinense J.D. Zhao, L.W. Hsu, and X.Q. Zhang, have been extensively investigated. Both species contain polysaccharides and triterpenes and are reported to have antitumor effects in both cell culture and animal models. Overall, the scientific and medical literature suggests that G. lucidum extracts have an excellent potential in cancer therapy, but further clinical studies are needed to assure that the effects observed in animal studies are valid in humans. Other issues include quality control/assurance; however, new methodologies including chemometrics and biochemometrics may overcome these issues as they correlate chemistry with biological effects.
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