A recent animal study conducted at China Pharmaceutical University has indicated that a bio-active fraction extracted from a mushroom called Lion's Mane (Hericium erinaceum) competed Aricept® (donepezil), an anti-Alzheimer's drug marketed by Pfizer. One of the active ingredients in the fraction is a substance called amyloban that has been found to inhibit the toxicity of the plaques of amyloid beta-peptide in brain cells, a main inducer of Alzheimer type dementia. Amyloban is already patented as an anti-dementia agent in Japan (Japanese Patent #394,3399).

The results of the learning and memory-related animal study using Morris Water Maze Test demonstrated that the Lion
fs Mane extract has the ability to improve recognition of space and memory of the rats with Alzheimer type dementia that may be equal to, or even higher, depending on the dose, than that of Aricept®, the prevailing anti-Alzheimer's drug commanding approximately $4.0 billion sales in the US only.

The study also demonstrated that the content of NGF (nerve growth factor) in the rats administered the bio-active fraction had higher value compared to that in the Aricept-administered rats. It is known that the lack of NGF is one of the causes of dementias, and inducing the production of NGF in the brain could counteract some of the neurodegenerative effects of the dementias.

The fraction has been developed by Maitake Products, Inc., E. Rutherford, NJ in collaboration with Dr. Kawagishi of Shizuoka University in Japan who is known to have discovered another patented compounds (hericenones) in Lion
fs Mane mushroom that stimulated the production of NGF in the brain cells. This innovative fraction contains both amyloban and hericenones and the fraction maximizes the benefits from the mushroom with brain tonic power.  Application of the fraction for registration of US patent has been filed with USPTO. The fraction showed no toxicities in single-dose test and 90 days repeated dose test.