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Ingredient guide

How much reishi per day?

Written by the Full Measure editorial team, which sells supplements. Approved for publication by the Full Measure owners. Updated .

Drafted with AI assistance from the sources listed below. How we write these

Quick answer

No dose of reishi has been established. LiverTox gives the usual range as 500 mg to 3 g a day. Trials in healthy adults used 0.72 to 4 g a day of whole reishi for up to four weeks, and 200 mg a day of a purified beta-glucan extract for 12 weeks.1,2,3,4

Key facts

  • Across 17 randomized trials, daily amounts ranged from 200 mg to 11.2 g.5
  • In one trial, 1.44 g of reishi a day matched about 13.2 g of fresh mushroom.6
  • The purified beta-glucan was given as one 200 mg capsule a day, before or with breakfast.4
  • Trials pooled in a 2025 review lasted 24 weeks at most, and no upper limit has been set.5

The amounts used in studies

Reishi in studies of healthy adults2,3,4,6,7,8
StudyFormDaily amountHow long
Biomarker study, 10 peopleReishi preparation1.1 g once, then 0.72 g a day10 days
Extract trial, 16 peopleExtract, in two doses a day4 g10 days
Biomarker trial, 18 peopleCapsules of a reishi preparation1.44 g4 weeks
Clotting trial, 40 peopleCapsules1.5 g4 weeks
Absorption study, 12 menWater extract granules in warm water3 g onceOne day
Beta-glucan trial, 157 peoplePurified beta-glucan200 mg12 weeks

LiverTox gives the usual amount of reishi as 500 mg to 3 g a day.1

A 2025 review of 17 randomized trials found daily amounts from 200 mg to 11.2 g, taken for 1 to 24 weeks.5

The pooled trials span a wide range partly because they mixed healthy volunteers with people under medical care. The range describes what was tried, not what works.5

Why grams do not compare across forms

A gram of reishi can mean very different things. Dried whole mushroom, a concentrated water or alcohol extract and a purified beta-glucan each carry different amounts of reishi's compounds, so the same number on two labels does not mean the same dose.1,4,9

Fresh and dried amounts differ too. In the four-week biomarker trial, each day's 1.44 g of reishi was the equivalent of about 13.2 g of fresh mushroom.6

When 19 reishi supplements bought in the United States were analyzed, the measured triterpenes and polysaccharides matched the label in only 5.9

So the amount printed on a reishi label is a guide rather than a guarantee, and two products with the same number of milligrams may deliver quite different doses.

Does more reishi do more?

No trial in healthy adults was designed to compare amounts over weeks of use, so there is no evidence that a larger daily dose does more. The longer trials each tested one amount against a placebo.3,4,6,7

The one finding graded on our guide page came from 200 mg a day of a purified extract. That trial differed from the whole reishi trials in its form and its length, not in grams: its daily amount was smaller than any of theirs.2,3,4

What's in ours

The reishi in our Mushroom Complex comes to less than the 500 mg that starts LiverTox's usual range, and less than the 0.72 g a day of the smallest whole reishi course in the table. The label does not say how concentrated the extract is or how much beta-glucan it holds.1,2

Amounts and safety

No upper limit has been set for reishi. Trials have used 200 mg to 11.2 g a day for 1 to 24 weeks, so longer use has not been tested.5

In trials of 1.4 to 3 g a day for 12 to 16 weeks in adults with type 2 diabetes, side effects were reported somewhat more often with reishi than with placebo, a difference that may be due to chance. None was serious.10

The rare liver reactions linked to reishi have happened at ordinary amounts. In the one fatal case, a woman developed jaundice about two months after switching from boiled reishi slices to a powder taken at 200 mg a day.1

  • Check with your doctor before any amount if you have liver disease, take a blood thinner, or take medicine for blood sugar, blood pressure or immune suppression
  • Check first if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, or under cancer care

Questions people ask

How much reishi powder per day?

No separate amount is set for powder. LiverTox's usual range of 500 mg to 3 g a day covers reishi products in general, and the healthy-adult trials of whole reishi used 0.72 to 4 g a day.1,2,3

How much reishi extract per day?

The extract trial in healthy adults used 2 g twice a day for 10 days, and the absorption study a single 3 g dose of water extract. The purified beta-glucan trial used 200 mg a day. Extracts differ in strength, so check whether the label gives an extract ratio.3,4,8

Is there a reishi dose for sleep?

No. We found no trial in healthy adults that tested reishi for sleep at any amount, so any dose suggested for sleep is a guess.

Can you take too much reishi?

No upper limit has been set, and use beyond 24 weeks has not been studied. Liver reactions are rare but have occurred at ordinary amounts, so stop and see a doctor if you notice dark urine or yellowing skin.1,5

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Sources

  1. LiverTox: Clinical and Research Information on Drug-Induced Liver Injury. Lingzhi, Reishi. Bethesda (MD): National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Last update October 5, 2024. Opened 2026-10-07.
  2. Wachtel-Galor S, Szeto YT, Tomlinson B, Benzie IF. Ganoderma lucidum ('Lingzhi'); acute and short-term biomarker response to supplementation. Int J Food Sci Nutr. 2004;55(1):75-83. Opened 2026-10-07.
  3. Wicks SM, Tong R, Wang CZ, O'Connor M, Karrison T, Li S, Moss J, Yuan CS. Safety and tolerability of Ganoderma lucidum in healthy subjects: a double-blind randomized placebo-controlled trial. Am J Chin Med. 2007;35(3):407-414. Opened 2026-10-07.
  4. Chen SN, Nan FH, Liu MW, Yang MF, Chang YC, Chen S. Evaluation of Immune Modulation by β-1,3; 1,6 D-Glucan Derived from Ganoderma lucidum in Healthy Adult Volunteers, A Randomized Controlled Trial. Foods. 2023;12(3):659. Opened 2026-10-07.
  5. Jafari A, Mardani H, Mirzaei Fashtali Z, Arghavan B. The Nutritional Significance of Ganoderma lucidum on Human Health: A GRADE-Assessed Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Clinical Trials. Food Sci Nutr. 2025;13(6):e70423. Opened 2026-10-07.
  6. Wachtel-Galor S, Tomlinson B, Benzie IF. Ganoderma lucidum ("Lingzhi"), a Chinese medicinal mushroom: biomarker responses in a controlled human supplementation study. Br J Nutr. 2004;91(2):263-269. Opened 2026-10-07.
  7. Kwok Y, Ng KFJ, Li CCF, Lam CCK, Man RYK. A prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of the platelet and global hemostatic effects of Ganoderma lucidum (Ling-Zhi) in healthy volunteers. Anesth Analg. 2005;101(2):423-426. Opened 2026-10-07.
  8. Teekachunhatean S, Sadja S, Ampasavate C, Chiranthanut N, Rojanasthien N, Sangdee C. Pharmacokinetics of ganoderic acids A and F after oral administration of Ling Zhi preparation in healthy male volunteers. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2012;2012:780892. Opened 2026-10-07.
  9. Wu DT, Deng Y, Chen LX, Zhao J, Bzhelyansky A, Li SP. Evaluation on quality consistency of Ganoderma lucidum dietary supplements collected in the United States. Sci Rep. 2017;7(1):7792. Opened 2026-10-07.
  10. Klupp NL, Chang D, Hawke F, Kiat H, Cao H, Grant SJ, Bensoussan A. Ganoderma lucidum mushroom for the treatment of cardiovascular risk factors. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2015;(2):CD007259. Opened 2026-10-07.

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