Key takeaways
- Reishi is too woody to eat, so it has always been extracted.
- Hot water draws out polysaccharides; alcohol draws out triterpenes.
- Dense Reishi benefits from fine preparation and cell-wall disruption.
- Spore products are a different material and should be labelled clearly.
Reishi is one of the clearest examples of why extraction matters. It is too woody to eat, and its best-known compounds need two different solvents to draw them out. This article explains how Reishi is extracted and why.
A mushroom you can’t eat
Reishi fruiting bodies are tough, leathery and bitter. Traditionally they were sliced and simmered for long periods to make a strong tea. That tradition is the origin of modern hot water extraction.
Two groups, two solvents
Polysaccharides, including beta-glucans, are water-soluble and drawn out by hot water. Triterpenes, such as the ganoderic acids that give Reishi its bitterness, are poorly soluble in water but dissolve well in alcohol. A water-only extract therefore captures relatively little of Reishi’s triterpenes, and an alcohol-only extract relatively little of its polysaccharides. See Reishi Compounds Explained.
Preparation
Because Reishi is so dense, it is sliced or ground finely before extraction to expose as much surface as possible. Techniques that help break open the cell walls, such as ultrasonic extraction, are particularly useful for tough material like this.
The extraction stages
- Hot water: draws out polysaccharides. See Hot-Water Extraction Explained.
- Alcohol: draws out triterpenes. See Alcohol Extraction Explained.
- Combining: the two are blended into a dual extract.
What about spores?
Some Reishi products use spores or spore oil rather than fruiting bodies. These are different materials again, and should be clearly labelled as such.
How we extract Reishi
We extract UK-grown Reishi fruiting bodies in hot water using ultrasonic extraction, and separately in plant-derived ethanol, then combine them in small batches in Dorset. Explore our Reishi tincture.