Lion's Mane for Memory and Thinking: What Trials Found and Their Limits
What small human trials of lion's mane found for memory and thinking in older adults and healthy adults, and why results do not transfer between products.
Content last updated . This page has not been medically reviewed.
Safety first. Supplements can cause side effects and interact with medicines. Read mushroom safety and interactions before you use any mushroom product.
Lion's mane (Hericium erinaceus (Bull.) Pers., the accepted name in GBIF[1]) is a mushroom eaten as food and sold as a supplement. A few small human trials report better memory or thinking scores in some groups, and others found no clear effect. A review of the clinical trials noted that only a limited number have been carried out so far.[2] Evidence label: promising but limited. It is not proven to prevent, slow or treat memory loss or dementia.
Which product was studied matters
Trials used very different things: dried fruiting body tablets, fruiting body extract, and mycelium capsules. The mycelium is the thread-like growing part of the fungus, and one trial used mycelium enriched in a compound called erinacine A.[3] A result for one of these does not transfer to the others, or to coffee, gummies or tea. See fruiting body vs mycelium and hericenones and erinacines.
What trials found
| Group and product studied | What the source found | Strength of evidence |
|---|---|---|
| 30 Japanese adults aged 50 to 80 with mild cognitive impairment; fruiting body tablets for 16 weeks[4] | Cognitive scale scores were higher than placebo at weeks 8, 12 and 16, then fell after the tablets were stopped.[4] | Promising but limited (small, one trial) |
| Adults taking fruiting body supplements for 12 weeks[5] | Of three tests, only the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) differed from placebo.[5] | Mixed |
| People with mild Alzheimer's disease; erinacine A-enriched mycelium capsules for 49 weeks (pilot)[3] | The lion's mane group scored better on the MMSE and daily-living scale than placebo; four people dropped out because of abdominal discomfort, nausea or skin rash.[3] | Promising but limited (pilot) |
| 41 healthy adults aged 18 to 45; 28 days[6] | Faster on one attention test an hour after a single dose; a stress trend after 28 days; the authors also report null findings.[6] | Mixed |
| 18 healthy adults aged 18 to 35; one dose of fruiting body extract[7] | No significant effect on overall thinking or mood; better on a single peg-board test.[7] | Mixed |
| Healthy adults; single dose, crossover[8] | Better on some tasks (Serial 7s attempts, N-Back reaction time).[8] | Mixed |
| 10 healthy adults; 28 days, no comparison group described[9] | No significant change in executive function or blood BDNF.[9] | Insufficient evidence |
Related
Lion's mane guide | Mushrooms for focus and memory | Nootropic evidence by outcome
Frequently asked questions
Does lion's mane improve memory?
Some small trials found higher test scores in people with mild cognitive impairment or mild Alzheimer's disease,[4][3] while trials in healthy younger adults were mostly mixed or null.[7][9] Label: promising but limited.
Can lion's mane prevent or treat Alzheimer's disease?
Proper evidence not found. We searched PubMed for human trials of Hericium erinaceus and Alzheimer's or dementia and found one pilot trial in mild Alzheimer's disease and small trials in mild cognitive impairment.[3][4] They do not show prevention or treatment.
Do the results apply to lion's mane coffee, gummies or tea?
Not from these studies. They tested tablets, extracts or mycelium capsules, and the results cannot be carried over to other products.[3][7]
Do effects last after stopping?
In the one trial that followed people after stopping, scores fell four weeks later.[4]
Is it safe to take with my medicines?
The trial reports we read do not settle this. Ask a pharmacist or clinician before adding it.[11]
More details: evidence, limits and cautions
The details behind this page: cautions, limits of the evidence and where sources disagree. Open any note to read it.
Limits and uncertainty
- The trials are small, short, and used different tests, so they cannot be added together neatly. An ALS review group said a very small mild cognitive impairment trial showed a temporary improvement that "has yet to be replicated".[10]
- One trial's author worked in a mushroom company laboratory,[4] and in another trial two authors worked for a company that uses lion's mane in its products.[7] A third reports that the product was supplied by a company that had no role in the analysis.[6] This does not make the results wrong, but independent repeat trials matter.
- A systematic review of this research gave a favorable summary but based it on five randomized trials, three pilot trials and many laboratory studies.[11] Laboratory and animal findings are covered separately in human vs animal research.
- Better test scores in a trial are not the same as better day-to-day memory.
Safety and who should ask first
Reported reactions in trials were mostly mild stomach discomfort and diarrhea.[11] Rare allergic and respiratory reports exist: see side effects and allergy. Ask a pharmacist or clinician first if you take regular medicines (see how interactions work), are pregnant or breastfeeding, or have a mushroom allergy. Tell the surgical team about any supplement before surgery. Amounts used in trials are listed in study amounts, not advice; a clinician decides what is right for a person.
If memory problems are new, getting worse, or worrying, see a clinician rather than trying a supplement first: memory changes and when to get help.