The compounds on the label raised no nerve growth factor alone
Whole lion's mane extract raised nerve growth factor in cultured human brain cells. Hericenones C, D and E, each tested on its own, raised none of it.
What the study found
The compounds named on the label are the ones that failed
Whole lion's mane extract raised nerve growth factor, a protein that keeps nerve cells alive, in cultured human brain cells. Hericenones C, D and E, each tested on its own, raised none of it. Whatever is doing the work in the extract, the paper concluded, is not a hericenone.
The caveat · A lab reading, not a memory test
The cells were a human tumour line, not ordinary brain tissue, and the mouse arm fed animals 5% lion's mane powder for a week, a far larger share of the diet than anyone eats. Nerve growth factor messenger levels are a molecular reading, not a memory test.
What we don't know
Three research groups each point to a different active compound in lion's mane, and the one printed on most labels failed when tested alone. None has been tested in a person, so what does the work is still open.