Ganoderma is a prolific producer of novel ‘‘mycochemicals’’.
The quantity of information on the fungus in this
respect is quite remarkable; hence this is an extensive
review. However, there is an uneasy combination of the
mythical, pseudo-science and science and deciding one
from the other requires experience. The organism is a white
rot which is involved in the fundamental process of lignocellulose
degradation in Nature, although this aspect will
not be considered. An image of a Ganoderma specimen is
provided in Fig. 1 and appears to be G. applanatum from
the morphology alone. The Chinese, inter alia, have used
preparations as medicines from a similar or identical fungus,
for millennia (cited as early as 100 BC) and have given
the organism the name ‘‘Lingzhi’’. In Japan the names
include Munnertake, Sachitake and Reishi, whereas in
Korea it has the name Youngzhi. However, whether this
and any particular species of Ganoderma represent the
same entity and throughout all periods in history is questionable.
The taxonomic situation within Ganoderma is
unclear as the species and genus concepts are confused.
For example, similar fungi are found in Fomes, Polyporus
and Tomophagus.