Does lion’s mane affect the gut microbiome?

Not much research has been done in this area. One small, single-blinded RCT found that short-term lion’s mane supplementation led to a change in the relative abundances of the bacterial species in the gut microbiomes of the participants who took lion’s mane. Some of the bacteria whose abundances changed include Bifidobacterium longum, Bacteroides caccae, Streptococcus thermophilus, and some bacteria (e.g., Roseburia and Faecalibacterium) known for producing short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). Additionally, lion’s mane appeared to temporarily increase both the richness and evenness of the participants’ gut microbiota, with some retention effect after the treatment ceased.^[1] This means that more species of gut bacteria were detectable after supplementation with lion’s mane, but no specific species or group of bacteria stood out, and it’s not clear whether there were actually more species present after supplementation, or whether the total abundance was simply raised so that more species passed the threshold of detection. Furthermore, participants in this study already had high levels of alpha-diversity, so even if there was a significant increase in diversity, this does not translate into a clinically relevant improvement. Finally, it’s important to highlight that this study involved only 13 participants, so more extensive clinical trials are necessary to further explore the potential benefits of lion’s mane on gut health.