Frontier mental health research: psychedelics & drug studies

Each month our editorial team sifts through hundreds of papers and curates notable findings—for practitioners and informed readers who want to stay current with the evidence. Subscribe to the monthly Research Digest for expert analysis and concise summaries of key papers.

5 papers

Medicinal Mushrooms: Bioactive Compounds, Use, and Clinical Trials

Giuseppe Venturella, Valeria Ferraro, Fortunato Cirlincione, Maria Letizia Gargano

This review describes compounds in medicinal mushrooms and how they work in lab and animal studies. It lists many possible effects, such as immune changes, anti-inflammatory and anticancer actions, and names key molecules like polysaccharides (β-glucans), terpenes, and fungal proteins. Most evidence so far comes from in vitro or animal…

Fungal Biology and Applications Medicinal Plants and Bioactive Compounds Phytochemistry and Bioactivity Studies

The effects of social isolation stress and discrimination on mental health

Lasse Brandt, Shuyan Liu, Christine Heim, Andreas Heinz
PubMed Central (PMC) Summary & key facts 2022 335 citations

Social isolation and discrimination are linked with worse physical and mental health, more illness and higher death rates, and a lower quality of life. This review combines animal and human research and clinical studies. Animal studies show that social separation, especially early in life, activates the body's stress‑hormone system (the…

Employment and Welfare Studies Health disparities and outcomes Racial and Ethnic Identity Research

Hericenones and erinacines: stimulators of nerve growth factor (NGF) biosynthesis inHericium erinaceus

Bingji Ma, Jinwen Shen, Hai‐You Yu, Yuan Ruan, Tingting Wu, Xu Zhao

This review surveys the chemical and biological literature dealing with the isolation, structural elucidation and bioactivity of hericenones and erinacines from the fruiting body and mycelium of Hericium erinaceus, concentrating on work that has appeared in the literature up to December 2009.

Fungal Biology and Applications Medicinal Plants and Bioactive Compounds Phytochemistry and Biological Activities

Influence of Short-Term Consumption of Hericium erinaceus on Serum Biochemical Markers and the Changes of the Gut Microbiota: A Pilot Study

Xie Xiao-qian, Yan Geng, Qijie Guan, Yilin Ren, Lin Guo, Qiqi Lv, et al.
Nutrients Summary & key facts 2021 50 citations

Researchers had 13 healthy adults take Hericium erinaceus powder every day for seven days. They tested blood with routine blood and serum chemistry tests and checked gut bacteria using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. After the week, the gut bacterial community showed higher within-sample diversity and higher levels of several bacteria…

Fungal Biology and Applications Ginseng Biological Effects and Applications Gut microbiota and health

Anti-staphylococcal activity of soilless cultivated cannabis across the whole vegetation cycle under various nutritional treatments in relation to cannabinoid content

Malikova, Lucie, Malik, Matej, Pavlik, Jan, et al.
Nature Summary & key facts 2024 9 citations

This lab study tested ethanolic extracts from Cannabis sativa plants grown without soil and harvested every week for 13 weeks under different nutrient treatments. All extracts slowed the growth of Staphylococcus aureus strains, including methicillin-resistant (MRSA) and methicillin-sensitive (MSSA) forms. The strongest antibacterial effect was seen from weeks 5 to…

Allelopathy and phytotoxic interactions Plant Parasitism and Resistance Plant tissue culture and regeneration
Summaries and links are for general information and education only. They are not a substitute for reading the original publication or for professional medical, legal, or other advice. Always refer to the linked source for the full study.