Cordyceps vs Lion's Mane: Key Differences

Quick answer

Cordyceps and lion's mane were tested for different things. Cordyceps trials looked at exercise tests and immune cell activity at 1 to 4 g a day. Lion's mane trials looked at memory and thinking scores at about 3 g a day. Both findings are early and come from small trials, and LiverTox rates both unlikely causes of liver injury.^1,2,3,4,5

Key facts

In the 16-week trial in adults over 50, lion's mane scores differed from placebo from week 8 and fell within 4 weeks of stopping.³
A 3 g dose of cordyceps for 5 weeks changed nothing in trained cyclists, while a 4 g blend raised oxygen uptake only in the 10 young adults who went on to 3 weeks.^6,7
Lion's mane trials with a result used the fruiting body. Most cordyceps products are mycelium grown in the laboratory.^4,8
Women were 14 of the 20 people on lion's mane in the 49-week trial and 20 of the 40 in a cordyceps drink trial.^9,10

What the trials looked at

Cordyceps and lion's mane: what the trials measured^{1,2,3,6,7,9,11,12,13}
	Cordyceps	Lion's mane
What was measured	Exercise tests such as maximal oxygen uptake, and natural killer cell activity in blood	Scores on memory and thinking tests, with some mood and everyday-complaint questionnaires
Who took part	Healthy adults from young adults to age 75, including trained cyclists	Healthy adults from college age to 80, and older adults under medical care in one long trial
Longest trial	12 weeks in the exercise trials, 3 months in a safety study of a related species	16 weeks in the trial with the clearest difference, 49 weeks in a mycelium trial
Daily amount	About 1 to 4 g	About 3 g where it differed from placebo, up to 10 g in one younger group
How well the trials agreed	Poorly: 3 g for 5 weeks changed nothing in trained cyclists, while 4 g for 3 weeks raised oxygen uptake in young adults	Two trials in adults over 50 leaned the same way; younger adults showed little
Best grade among its findings	Early, for two findings	Early, for one finding

What each has shown in people

Both mushrooms carry a finding graded early, and neither finding reaches the other mushroom's territory. Here is the one from cordyceps that concerns exercise tests, followed by the one from lion's mane.

May support aerobic exercise capacity at 1 to 4 g a day taken for several weeks; results disagree, including in trained athletes*^1,6,7,14,15

Early evidence

In 20 adults aged 50 to 75, a cultured cordyceps mycelium (Cs-4) at 333 mg three times a day for 12 weeks raised two exercise thresholds by 8.5% and 10.5%, with no change in maximal oxygen uptake. In 28 young adults, 4 g a day of a mushroom blend containing Cordyceps militaris made no difference after 1 week; in the 10 who continued for 3 weeks, maximal oxygen uptake rose compared with placebo. In 22 trained male cyclists, 3 g a day for 5 weeks changed nothing measured. A 2025 meta-analysis of two or three small trials found borderline gains, and a 2026 review called the Cordyceps militaris trials inconsistent.

Amount studied: About 1 to 4 g a day for 3 to 12 weeks

May support memory and thinking test scores in adults over 50 at about 3 g a day of fruiting body powder; not shown in younger adults*^{3,12,13,16,17}

Early evidence

Two small Japanese trials. In 30 adults aged 50 to 80 whose memory and thinking had been assessed as mildly below normal for their age, about 3 g a day of fruiting body powder for 16 weeks raised scores on a cognitive scale more than placebo at weeks 8, 12 and 16, and the gain faded within 4 weeks of stopping. In 31 adults over 50, 3.2 g a day for 12 weeks gave a slightly higher result than placebo on one screening test and no difference on two others. In younger adults, 10 g a day for 4 weeks changed nothing measured, and single doses of 1 to 3 g gave mixed results.

Amount studied: About 3 to 3.2 g a day of fruiting body powder for 12 to 16 weeks

The shape of the evidence differs. Lion's mane results split by age: adults over 50 showed a difference, while a group of college-age adults taking 10 g a day showed none. Cordyceps results scatter more, with trained cyclists, older adults and young adults each pointing a different way.^1,3,6,13

Which part of the mushroom

Two groups of compounds set lion's mane apart: hericenones, taken from the fruiting body, and erinacines, taken from the cultured mycelium.⁸

Some mycelium products are grown on grain. The Cordyceps militaris blend in one exercise trial was mycelium grown on organic oats, mixed with five other mushrooms.⁷

When you compare labels, compare the part as well as the milligrams. A fruiting body powder and a mycelium powder with the same milligram count are different materials. The lion's mane trials with a difference used the fruiting body, while the cordyceps trials used a mycelium, whether Cs-4 or Cordyceps militaris grown on oats.^1,3,7

When doses were given and results read

Single-dose trials tested people 60, 90 or 120 minutes after the dose.^16,17,18

In the 16-week trial, scores differed from placebo at week 8 and again at weeks 12 and 16, rising the longer people took it.³

Natural killer cell activity was measured at 2 and 4 weeks in one trial and at 4 and 8 weeks in another. In the drink trial, the change showed in men at 4 weeks and in women at 8 weeks.^2,10

In a Cordyceps militaris blend trial, maximal oxygen uptake did not differ from placebo after 1 week but did after 3 weeks.⁷

The clocks are not alike. Single-dose lion's mane trials tested people within two hours, while the trials with a difference ran for weeks. The cordyceps immune trials read their results at 2 to 8 weeks, and one exercise trial found nothing at 1 week and something at 3.^2,3,7,16

Who took part

Women took part in several trials: they were 14 of the 20 people taking lion's mane in the 49-week trial, and 22 of the 40 adults in a single-dose trial of 1 g.^9,18

Women made up 12 of 28 participants in a Cordyceps militaris blend exercise trial, 28 of 80 in a mycelium extract immune trial, and 20 of 40 in a cordyceps drink trial.^7,10,19

Both research files include women, though in different numbers. The trial groups were mixed in age and fitness, so read each result as a statement about the group that took part, not about a particular reader.^7,9

What's in ours

Our Lion's Mane gives 1,000 mg of a fruiting body and mycelium powder, and our Mushroom Complex gives 266 mg of lion's mane and 266 mg of cordyceps mycelium. The lion's mane trials with a difference used about 3 g, three times the amount in our Lion's Mane and over ten times that in the Mushroom Complex. The cordyceps trials used 1 to 4 g, against 266 mg in the Mushroom Complex. We make no claim for either mushroom in a product.^1,3

Side effects and who should ask first

Stomach discomfort, nausea or diarrhea, reported by under 10% of people in longer trials.^5,9

Skin rash. In a 49-week trial, 3 people taking lion's mane stopped because of stomach discomfort, nausea or a rash, against 1 on placebo who stopped because of nausea.⁹

Trials of 1 to 4 g a day reported few side effects. In a 3-month study of 1.05 g a day of a related species, liver and kidney blood tests did not change and no one reported side effects.^2,11,19

In a 2025 review of 14 trials of mushroom supplements in athletes, only 3 mentioned adverse events, so mild complaints may have gone unrecorded.¹⁴

Ask your doctor first if you take a blood thinner or antiplatelet medicine, or have surgery planned: cordycepin and a lion's mane compound both slowed platelet clumping in laboratory tests^20,21
Ask first about cordyceps if you take medicines that suppress the immune system, have an autoimmune condition, take insulin or another medicine that lowers blood sugar, or have liver disease^2,22,23
See a doctor, rather than relying on a supplement, if your memory or thinking is getting noticeably worse
Do not take either if you have had an allergic reaction to mushrooms or molds^24,25
Ask first if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, or under 18

Questions people ask

Is cordyceps or lion's mane better studied?

They are about level, and both are thinly studied. Each has roughly half a dozen to ten small trials in people, each has findings graded early, and each has a trial that found nothing. They were tested for different outcomes, so the results cannot be set against each other.^6,13,14,24

Do cordyceps and lion's mane come from the same part of the mushroom?

No. Lion's mane trials with results used the fruiting body, the part people cook and eat, while most cordyceps products are mycelium grown in a laboratory or on grain.^4,7,8

Have cordyceps or lion's mane caused liver problems?

LiverTox rates both as unlikely causes of liver injury. One case report linked years of daily cordyceps to a rare liver condition. Ask your doctor first if you have liver disease.^4,5,23

See what we make

Every product shows its whole label and what its lab report covers. The store opens soon.

See the Full Measure line

Sources

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

This page is information, not medical advice. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about your own situation.