Efficacy of Lingzhi or Reishi Medicinal Mushroom Ganoderma lucidum (Agaricomycetes) Supplementation on Psychological Stress and Selective Fitness Profile Parameters in Female College Students in West Bengal, India

Psychological disparities impact physical activity and fitness in sedentary female college students by affecting cardiovascular efficiency. <i>Ganoderma lucidum</i>, vitality-enhancing herb alleviates health and rejuvenates the mind-body to improve endurance fitness. A double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled parallel design study was conducted to determine whether supplementation of <i>G. lucidum </i>in daily dosages of 500 mg (GL_500mg group) and 1000 mg (GL_1000mg group) improves psychophysiological health capabilities during the different phases of the experimental trial. Analysis for pre-experimental trial (day 0), experimental trial (day 15), and post-experimental trial (after day 30) on anthropometric, psychological, physiological, and physical fitness parameters were executed. Seventy-eight participants (<i>n</i> &#61; 78, age 20.64 &#177; 3.21 years) were assigned randomly and equally divided (<i>n </i>&#61; 26) to one of the three treatment groups for intragroup and intergroup comparisons. Significant differences in the post-experimental GL_1000mg group for heart rate (HR), maximal oxygen consumption (VO_2max), physical work capacity (PWC₁₇₀), and right-hand grip strength (<i>P</i> &#60; 0.05) compared with the placebo group were observed. GL_1000mg-supplemented group also significantly improved (<i>P</i> &#60; 0.05) HR, VO_2max and PWC₁₇₀ (<i>P</i> &#60; 0.001) after pre- to post-trials. Experimental trial between placebo and GL_1000mg group and post-experimental trial between the GL_500mg and GL_1000mggroup showed significant changes in VO_2max(<i>P</i> &#60; 0.001) and PWC₁₇₀ (<i>P</i> &#60; 0.05). Anxiety, depression, vitality and positive well-being scores significantly improved, leading to improved psychological well-being after GL_1000mg supplementation. GL_1000mg supplementation for 30 days might act as a longevity-promoting tonic for endurance and strength performance by ameliorating stress to improve the overall psychophysiological health, vitality and quality of life for better cardiovascular efficacy.