Restoration of sensory dysfunction following peripheral nerve injury by the polysaccharide from culinary and medicinal mushroom, Hericium erinaceus (Bull.: Fr.) Pers. through its neuroregenerative action

Medicinal properties of Hericium erinaceus (Bull.: Fr) Pers., also known as Lion’s Mane, Monkey’s Head and Yamabushitake have been well known for hundreds of years in traditional Chinese and Japanese herbal medicine to treat various human diseases. The most promising activity of H. erinaceus is the stimulation of nerve growth factor (NGF) synthesis by hericenones from fruit bodies and erinacines from mycelium (Kawagishi et al., 2008). Extract of fruit bodies exerted neurotrophic action and improved myelination process in mature fibers of neuronal cells in vitro (Moldavan et al., 2007), and promoted normal development of cultivated cerebellar cells as well as regulatory effect on the process of myelin genesis in vitro (Kolotushkina et al., 2003).