Lion's Mane 650mg | 180 Capsules | Vit4ever

Lion's Mane by Vit4ever

Lion's mane (Hericium erinaceus), also known as the tooth fungus in Dutch, is an edible mushroom that has been on Asian menus for centuries and is also used in traditional cuisine. Vit4ever provides a concentrated 30:1 extract with 650 mg per capsule, standardized to polysaccharides and beta-glucans, the two groups of compounds by which this type of extract is usually assessed. One jar contains 180 vegan capsules.

What lion's mane looks like and where it comes from

Anyone who sees the mushroom for the first time, in the wild or in a photo, will immediately recognize it by its unusual shape: instead of a stem with a cap, lion's mane consists of a ball of long, white, hanging threads, reminiscent of a lion's mane, hence the name the mushroom has in English. The mushroom naturally grows on deciduous trees in temperate and subtropical forests, especially in North America, Europe, and Asia, usually on trees that are damaged or dying. In countries such as China, Japan, and Korea, it has been eaten and used for generations, just like shiitake and reishi in the same regions. There, the mushroom is traditionally stewed or fried and is known for a texture reminiscent of seafood such as lobster. For supplements, the mushroom is not used fresh, but is first carefully dried and then converted into a concentrated extract with a longer shelf life through an extraction process.

What a 30:1 extract actually means

The 30:1 ratio indicates how much dried mushroom is needed to make one part extract. Specifically: 30 kilos of dried lion's mane are needed to produce 1 kilo of extract, a ratio used in the industry to indicate the concentration level of an extract. During that process, water and other inactive components are removed, concentrating the polysaccharides and beta-glucans in the remaining extract. This makes it possible to incorporate an amount of extract into a single capsule that would be practically unachievable with fresh mushrooms. The difference between eating the raw mushroom and taking this extract lies in the density: a capsule delivers a multiple of what you would get from eating the same weight in fresh mushrooms in a small volume, simply because the water has been removed. Each capsule of this product contains 650 mg of that 30:1 extract, a fixed amount that is checked for each batch.

Standardized to polysaccharides and beta-glucans

Mushroom extracts can vary greatly in quality, even if the label lists the same name and weight. For that reason, this extract is standardized to two groups of compounds: polysaccharides and beta-glucans. Polysaccharides are long chains of sugar molecules attached to each other, comparable to a long train of identical carriages coupled together. Beta-glucans are a specific subgroup of polysaccharides, with a characteristic branched structure, comparable to a side branch growing from the main stem of the sugar chain. They are considered the most characteristic components of mushrooms such as lion's mane, reishi, and shiitake. Standardization means that each batch contains at least a set percentage of these compounds, regardless of natural fluctuations in the quality of the raw mushroom that can occur from harvest to harvest.

Use and composition of the capsule

At the recommended dosage of two capsules per day, you receive a total of 1300 mg of lion's mane extract. A jar of 180 capsules is therefore sufficient for about three months with daily use of the recommended amount. The capsule shell is plant-based and made of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC), a cellulose-based shell instead of animal gelatin, making the capsules suitable for a vegan diet and also for those who prefer not to use animal products. No additional fillers, colorings, or flavorings have been added; the capsule contains only the extract and the plant-based shell, keeping the label clear for those who want to know exactly what they are taking. Vit4ever has each production batch independently tested in a laboratory for content and purity, separate from its own production line, so that the percentage of polysaccharides and beta-glucans on the label is actually present in the capsule.

In short: this is a concentrated, standardized extract of Hericium erinaceus, a mushroom that has been part of Asian cuisine for centuries, packaged in a pure vegan capsule without unnecessary additives.

Want to know more about this mushroom? Read our explanation what Lion's Mane is.