This Mushroom, Hericium erinaceus, already well known in traditional medicine for enhancing peripheral nerve regeneration by targeting the neurotrophic activity of nerve growth factor (NGF), also amplifies memory. This team of biologists from the University of Queensland shows here, in the Journal of Neurochemistry, that the compound, by stimulating nerve growth or neurogenesis, promotes neuronal projections and therefore connections between neurons.
''This mushroom extract, also known as lion's mane, has been used for centuries, but we wanted to reveal their effects on brain cells in a scientific way'', summarizes one of the main authors, Professor Frederic Meunier of the Queensland Brain Institute.
A Fungus That Grows Synapses and Generates Connections
These preclinical trials confirm that Lion's Mane mushroom does have a significant impact on brain cell growth and memory enhancement. Using in vitro tests, the team measured the neurotrophic effects of compounds isolated from Hericium erinaceus on brain cells in culture and observed by super-resolution microscopy that:
- some of the active compounds promote projections and therefore neuronal connections;
- the size of the growth cones is increased. Growth cones are segments at the end of the axon that pull it forward and allow brain cells to sense their surroundings. They therefore play a key role in establishing new connections.
Applications against neurodegenerative cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer's disease: these bioactive and natural compounds capable of reaching the brain and regulating the growth of neurons, so as to promote memory formation, could make it possible to treat certain cognitive disorders , especially memory loss.
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