Recent Progress in Pharmacological Activities of Polysaccharides from the Mycelia of Liquid-Cultured Ganoderma lucidum

Ganoderma lucidum is a mushroom widely used in China as a traditional Chinese medicine and healthy food for thousands of years due to its promotion of longevity and health. Polysaccharides extracted from fruit bodies or liquidcultured mycelia of G. lucidum have anti-tumor, immune-improving, liver-protecting, anti-oxidation, anti-fatigue, free radical scavenging and anti-aging functions. In this paper, we provide a systematic review of studies on strain breeding and culture medium and conditions optimization for the production of G. lucidum polysaccharides as well as their pharmacological activities.