Focus
Lion's mane mushroom
Lion's mane is a mushroom with limited cognition data and no exercise-performance evidence.
How it counts: Not part of the score
We show it on the label and count it as disclosed, but it never affects Dose, any sub-score or the grade. The basis below explains why.
- Clinical dose
- No established clinical dose
- Safety ceiling
- —
- Evidence
- weak
- Category
- Focus
Evidence summary
Research confidence: low
No reference dose. Lion's mane (Hericium erinaceus) is a mushroom sold for focus and memory. In 41 healthy young adults, a single 1.8 g dose sped up one attention task (Stroop) at 60 minutes, with other measures unchanged, and 28 days gave only a trend toward lower stress (Docherty 2023). Older adults with mild memory problems improved on 3 g a day for 16 weeks (Mori 2009). No study tests it for exercise, and pre-workout labels use around 100 mg or less, often inside a blend.
Research sources
- The Acute and Chronic Effects of Lion's Mane Mushroom Supplementation on Cognitive Function, Stress and Mood in Young Adults (Docherty et al., Nutrients 2023)(opens in new window)
- Improving effects of the mushroom Yamabushitake (Hericium erinaceus) on mild cognitive impairment: a double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial (Mori et al., Phytother Res 2009)(opens in new window)
30 older Japanese adults with mild cognitive impairment: 3 g/day of fruiting-body powder for 16 weeks improved cognitive scores; the gain faded after stopping.