Database for medicinal mushrooms

LOCAL mushroom experts have set up a database of the Chinese ganoderma species, the first of its kind in the world, to isolate species with highly effective components for health care.

The database splits ganoderma into seven categories and more than 70 percent of ganoderma strains belong to ganoderma lucidum, a category with medicinal properties. It also records the planting conditions, chemical compositions and medicinal effectiveness of different ganoderma strains.

Scientists from the Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences collected more than 150 strains from some 20 provinces. The strains were then grown in the same conditions and more than 4,000 photos were taken of their different growth periods, said Zhang Jinsong, who was in charge of the project.

"We judged the ganoderma species by chemical tests because the sellers always invent different names for the same species," Zhang said. "The database can help distinguish most ganoderma species though not all. In the past, we had no idea about the number of species and their exact compositions."

Ganoderma is described as a supernatural herb in many old novels and it's claimed that it can save dying people.

"Though it isn't so useful as the descriptions in these novels, ganoderma can improve people's immunity, help treat insomnia and be good for cancer patients," Zhang said.

But different species have different effectiveness and different planting conditions will also affect the effectiveness of the same species.

Therefore, another task for scientists is to select the strains with the greatest effects and determine the most suitable planting conditions, he said.

Experts have chosen six strains that are adaptable to the environment and have a high content of effective components. They are trying to grow the strains in Zhejiang, Anhui and Jiangxi provinces to see what influence different areas, harvest seasons and planting methods have.

"We hope to find planting standards for good-quality ganoderma so that people can buy a herb with guaranteed quality. Currently, it is difficult to learn the exact effectiveness of ganoderma sold on the market," Zhang added.