Lion's Mane (Hericium erinaceus) Agar Culture

Lion's Mane (Hericium erinaceus) is an edible mushroom belonging to the tooth fungus group. Native to North America, Europe and Asia it is both culinary and medicinal. It is a saprotroph that can be found growing on hardwood trees like maple or beech. However, Lion's Mane has been found growing on various other types of trees.

Due to its consistency and taste Lion's Mane can be used as a replacement for seafood in many recipes, and many individuals also take it as a supplement in powdered form. It's also one of the easiest mushroom species to grow, so is great for beginner mushroom growers!

Lions Mane is gaining popularity as a nootropic supplement due to the results of several studies, performed at esteemed institutions, for its positive effects on neural health, Alzheimer's, and dementia. Both the mycelium and the fruiting bodies of this species contain a substance called erinacine, which causes increased production of nerve growth factor (NFG). Higher levels of NFG have been shown to reduce the effects of Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative disorders (Yamada et al., 1997).

A study in Japan performed on men aged 50-80 years old with mild cognitive impairment suggests that Lion's Mane is effective at improving cognition. Subjects were split into two groups and half were given dry powdered Lion's Mane three times a day and observed over 16 weeks. At weeks 8, 12, and 16, the group taking Lion's Mane scored significantly better on a cognitive test than the other half in the placebo group (Mori et al., 2008).

Adding this agar culture to our sterilized rye grain will produce high quality grain spawn that can be used to inoculate a wood based sterilized substrate.

The Lion’s Mane isolate is grown on agar in a parafilm-wrapped 90x20mm petri dish. Our agar is made with agar agar powder which is food grade with a high gel strength of 900g/cm2. We add light dry malt extract powder to our agar mixture to help promote growth of the mycelium. The malt extract is of the highest quality, sustainably sourced and made for brewing.