Quality evaluation of commercial products of Ganoderma lucidum made from its fruiting body and spore

Abstract

Abstract Ganoderma lucidum (GL), also known as Reishi or Lingzhi, is a medicinal mushroom widely used in traditional and folk medicines. The extracts made from the fruiting body and spore of naturally grown GL are the most frequently used in commercial products. More than 400 compounds have been identified in GL with the triterpenoids considered to be the major active components. Large variations in the chemical components were reported in previous studies and there is no comprehensive study of the content of multiple major triterpenoids in the GL product. In addition, there is no report in the comparison of chemical profiles in different parts of GL (i.e., fruiting body and spore). Determining the chemical composition and comparing the differences between fruiting body and spore are essential for the identity, efficacy and safety of various GL products. In this study, 13 compounds (ganoderenic Acid C, ganoderic Acid C2, ganoderic Acid G, ganoderic Acid B, ganoderenic Acid B, ganoderic Acid A, ganoderic Acid H, ganoderenic Acid D, ganoderic Acid D, ganoderic Acid F, ganoderic Acid DM, ganoderol A, and ergosterol) were selected as the chemical markers. The purpose of this study is to develop an HPLC-DAD fingerprint method for quantification of these active components in GL (spore and fruiting body) and test the feasibility of using the HPLC-DAD fingerprint for quality control or identity determination of GL products. The results showed that this method could determine the levels of the major components accurately and precisely. Among the 13 components, 11 ganoderma acids were identified to be proper chemical markers for quality control of GL products, while ganoderal A was in a very low amount and ergosterol was not a specific marker in GL. The extracts of fruiting body contained more chemical compounds than those of spore, indicating that these 11 compounds could be a better chemical marker for the fruiting body than the spore. The HPLC chemical fingerprint analysis showed higher variability in the quality of GL harvest in different years, while lesser variation in batches harvested in the same year. In conclusion, an HPLC assay detecting 11 major active components and a fingerprinting method was successfully established and validated to be feasible for quality control of most commercial GL products.