Researchers in the UK assessed the effects of four-week supplementation of Lion’s Mane alone and a Lion’s Mane and Reishi mushroom blend on mood and wellbeing in women aged 18–26 experiencing subjective stress and/or anxiety.
“The prevalence of mental health conditions in young people has increased significantly over the past three decades, where evidence from the Global Burden of Disease indicates that the burden is higher in females and anxiety is highest in those aged 20–24,” the researchers wrote.
While results showed that the Lion’s Mane and Reishi blend reduced anxiety more than Lion’s Mane alone in Gen Z women, researchers noted that placebo effects, participants’ expectations and regular self-monitoring may have influenced improvements across all groups.
“These findings emphasize the complexity of designing nutritional intervention trials with subjective mood outcomes,” they noted.
Lion’s Mane, Reishi and brain health
Lion’s Mane contains compounds called hericenones and erinacines, which may support nerve growth factor (NGF) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), helping to maintain and support nerve cells. Some research has reported it can improve cognition, anxiety, depression and stress, however results are mixed, and studies are generally conducted in older adults.
“Until recently, human trials have focused on older adults or clinical populations, where modest cognitive improvements have been observed,” the researchers noted. “Emerging trials in younger, healthy populations remain limited with inconsistent findings.”
Reishi mushroom is often combined with Lion’s Mane in supplements, but researchers have not established whether this combination improves mental health. Reishi contains compounds called triterpenoids, including ganoderic acids, which may reduce inflammatory markers such as TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6.
“Given the potential association between peripheral inflammatory markers and anxiety symptomology, one plausible mechanism is that Reishi contributes an anti-inflammatory pathway to anxiety reduction that is independent of, and potentially additive to Lion’s Mane,” the researchers suggested.
Potential anxiety benefits in young women
The researchers conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving 84 Gen Z women who reported stress and/or anxiety. Participants received either 1.8 g powdered Lion’s mane, 1.8 g powdered Lion’s mane and Reishi mushroom blend, or placebo in capsule form for 28-days.
Researchers first asked participants to rank the mental health symptoms that mattered most to them and then used these findings to select outcomes for the trial. Participants completed questionnaires at baseline before taking the supplements, at day 28, and at day 42, two weeks after stopping supplementation.
The researchers measured anxiety, stress, fatigue and self-esteem, and analysed the results using statistical tests and assessed treatment compliance, blinding and adverse events.
Results showed that participants who took the Lion’s Mane and Reishi mushroom blend experienced significantly lower anxiety scores than those who took Lion’s Mane alone after 28 days. The blend group also reported lower stress and anxiety on secondary measures compared with other groups, although these findings were not statistically significant after correction for multiple comparisons.
Results did however show that all three groups showed improvements over time. Anxiety, stress and fatigue decreased, while self-esteem increased, regardless of which treatment participants received.
“These widespread improvements suggest that trial participation itself may have contributed to psychological benefits, independent of active treatment, through several potential mechanisms, including expectancy effects, the Hawthorne effect and self-monitoring effects,” the researchers noted.
“The sample comprised Gen Z women, a demographic highly exposed to social media marketing of mushroom-based products, where evidence suggests pre-existing beliefs about supplement efficacy may shape participants expectations and subsequently influence outcomes, irrespective of the specific treatment received.
“This offers a potential explanation for the significant improvements observed across all psychological outcomes, independent of treatment allocation, with blinding of treatment assignment remaining throughout.”
Participants taking the mushroom blend also reported mood improvements more frequently than those taking Lion’s Mane alone. Overall, the findings suggest that the mushroom blend may help reduce anxiety, but further research is needed to confirm its effects, the researchers noted. They concluded that psychological improvements may have arisen from both the intervention itself and the experience of participating in a study.
“This trial contributes to a growing field investigating functional mushrooms, however, to further understand efficacy effects, substantial work is required to determine key methodological questions including dosage, intervention duration and blend composition,” they said.
“While the mushroom blend shows some promise, future research should prioritize disentangling the contributions of individual mushrooms and the synergistic relationship of combination blends.”
Source: Frontiers in Nutrition; doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2026.1887408; “The effects of four-week supplementation of Lion’s mane and a Lion’s mane and Reishi blend on prioritised mood and wellbeing measures in young women.” Authors: Smith, E. F.
