Lion's mane mushroom: what the evidence says about memory and mood

Lion's mane is an edible mushroom that grows on hardwood trees and looks like a cascade of white icicles. It is cooked in East Asian cuisine and sold fresh at some farmers markets, where cooks slice and pan-fry it; one trial team notes that people may eat up to 300 grams of fresh mushroom in a serving Surendran 2025. Supplements come as dried fruiting-body powder, extracts, or mycelium grown on grain, and these are not interchangeable.

Interest comes from compounds called hericenones and erinacines, shown to stimulate nerve growth factor in lab studies Nagano 2010. A 2025 systematic review of the clinical literature counted only five randomized trials and three pilot trials of cognition among a larger pile of lab studies Menon 2025. Promising biology in a dish is a reason to run trials in people, not a result in people.

The trial most often quoted for lion's mane is from 2009. Researchers in Japan randomly assigned 30 people aged 50 to 80 with mild cognitive impairment to tablets of 96% dried mushroom powder (four 250 mg tablets, three times a day) or placebo for 16 weeks. The mushroom group scored higher on a dementia rating scale at weeks 8, 12 and 16, and lab tests showed no harm. Four weeks after stopping, scores dropped significantlyMori 2009.

That is one small trial with 15 people per group. It has not been repeated at a larger scale with modern methods, and a systematic review pooled MMSE scores from just one randomized and one pilot trial Menon 2025. Anyone noticing new memory problems should see a clinician first, since some causes (thyroid problems, low vitamin B12, medicine side effects, sleep apnea) have specific fixes.

In a 2023 pilot trial, 41 healthy adults aged 18 to 45 took 1.8 grams of lion's mane or placebo. One hour after a single dose, the mushroom group was quicker on the Stroop task, and after 28 days there was a trend toward lower subjective stress that did not reach significance. The authors reported null and some negative findings as well and asked for larger trials Docherty 2023. A 2025 crossover trial in 18 young adults found no significant effect of a 3 gram extract dose on overall cognition or mood, with one improved motor taskSurendran 2025.

For mood, a 2010 study gave 30 women cookies made with lion's mane or placebo cookies for four weeks. Depression scores fell from baseline in the mushroom group, and a few complaint items were lower than in the placebo group Nagano 2010. Small samples, short durations and mixed outcomes mean none of these is a reason to swap lion's mane for care that works for depression or anxiety.

If you want to try it as food, fresh lion's mane from a grocer or market is the simplest route. For dried products, iHerb lists powders and extracts; check whether a product is made from the fruiting body or from mycelium on grain.