How Lion's Mane Works: NGF, BDNF & Brain Health

Lion's Mane is often sold as a mushroom for the mind. What makes it interesting to researchers is the how: among the most studied medicinal mushrooms, it appears to influence two proteins the brain relies on to keep its cells alive and adaptable, nerve growth factor (NGF) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). These neurotrophic factors help neurons survive, form new connections, and support learning and memory. Because both tend to decline with age, they have become important targets in healthy ageing research.

In our previous article, What Is Lion's Mane?, we introduced the mushroom. Here, we look at the science behind NGF and BDNF, and whether Lion's Mane really supports brain health.

Lion's Mane and Nerve Growth Factor (NGF)

NGF helps certain neurons survive, repair themselves and form new connections throughout life. As we age, maintaining these connections becomes increasingly important for healthy brain function. Lion's Mane contains two families of compounds that seem to prompt cells to make more of it: hericenones, from the fruiting body (the mushroom you would recognise), and erinacines, from the mycelium (the root-like network beneath).

In one laboratory study, Lion's Mane extract raised NGF production in cultured human brain-supporting cells, and the more extract they received, the more they made (1). A second study went further: the extract pushed nerve cells to grow new branches and release more NGF of their own (2). The mushroom does not act like NGF itself. It switches on the cell's own production line.

Lion's Mane and Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF)

NGF has a better-known relative, BDNF, which we cover in What Is BDNF? BDNF is often described as "fertiliser for the brain" because it supports learning, memory and the formation of new neural connections, and it responds strongly to habits like exercise and good sleep.

Lion's Mane appears to influence this pathway too. In a 2018 mouse study, an erinacine A-enriched extract reduced depression-like behaviours following chronic stress while restoring BDNF activity in the hippocampus, the brain's memory hub (3).

A 2023 study sharpened this. One of the mushroom's compounds, hericene A, made memory-region neurons grow and branch in the lab. Blocking BDNF's usual docking point only partly reduced the effect, suggesting Lion's Mane works through more than one route. Mice fed the compound made more growth factors and did better on a memory test (4). Together, these studies tie Lion's Mane's BDNF effect to what it underpins most: mood and memory.

A 2025 study added another layer. Given a standardised Lion's Mane extract, immature human nerve cells gradually stopped dividing and began to mature into working neurons, growing longer and becoming electrically active, a process called neuronal differentiation (5). It is early, lab-based work, but it suggests Lion's Mane may support neurons at several stages.

Does Any of This Protect the Brain?

Laboratory findings are encouraging, but the bigger question is whether they translate into brain function. In a 2019 study, older mice given an erinacine-enriched Lion's Mane extract for two months showed improved recognition memory and more growth of new neurons in the hippocampus than untreated animals (6).

An important caveat remains. The same extract that stimulated NGF production and encouraged neurite growth did not protect those cells from oxidative stress, a process linked to ageing (2). Supporting neuronal growth and preventing neuronal damage are different challenges, and most evidence so far comes from lab and animal studies, not people.

What the Human Studies Show

For all that promise in cells and animals, human studies are a more mixed story. Across the randomised trials so far, several report encouraging findings, but most are small and short (7). The clearest signals come from people already in cognitive decline; in healthy adults, results are more inconsistent. In the most cited trial, 30 older adults with mild cognitive impairment took 3 g of Lion's Mane daily for sixteen weeks and scored better on a cognitive function scale than a placebo group, only for the gains to fade once they stopped (8). A trial in 31 healthy adults over 50 improved on one cognitive test after twelve weeks but not on two others; since that group began slightly ahead and the placebo group also improved, a practice effect cannot be ruled out (9).

Not every study agrees. Some trials find gains on specific mental tasks; others show little or no measurable effect, especially after a single dose (10,11). For now the evidence is promising but it will take larger, longer trials to be sure.

The same split shows up in illness. Among 49 people with mild Alzheimer's disease, nearly a year of erinacine A-enriched Lion's Mane improved everyday functioning, even if standard cognitive tests did not shift (12).

The mechanism is biologically plausible and well supported in the lab; the human evidence is still early and limited. Lion's Mane is widely regarded as safe to consume, though long-term data on concentrated supplements is still thin (7).

Trials have typically used around 1.5 to 3 grams a day, taken consistently over several weeks, since any benefits tended to fade once people stopped. If you would like to try it, Augment Life's Lion's Mane extract is available on our online shop. 

Related Reading

• What Is Lion's Mane?
• What Is BDNF?
• Do Mushroom Supplements Work?
• How to Take Mushroom Supplements for Best Results

Literature Sources

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2. Lai PL, Naidu M, Sabaratnam V, Wong KH, David RP, Kuppusamy UR, Abdullah N, Malek SNA. Neurotrophic Properties of the Lion's Mane Medicinal Mushroom, Hericium erinaceus (Higher Basidiomycetes) from Malaysia. International Journal of Medicinal Mushrooms. 2013;15(6):539–554. doi: 10.1615/intjmedmushr.v15.i6.30
3. Chiu CH, Chyau CC, Chen CC, Lee LY, Chen WP, Liu JL, Lin WH, Mong MC. Erinacine A-Enriched Hericium erinaceus Mycelium Produces Antidepressant-Like Effects through Modulating BDNF/PI3K/Akt/GSK-3β Signaling in Mice. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2018;19(2):341. doi: 10.3390/ijms19020341
4. Martínez-Mármol R, Chai Y, Conroy JN, Khan Z, Hong SM, Kim SB, et al. Hericerin Derivatives Activates a Pan-Neurotrophic Pathway in Central Hippocampal Neurons Converging to ERK1/2 Signaling Enhancing Spatial Memory. Journal of Neurochemistry. 2023;165(6):791–808. doi: 10.1111/jnc.15767
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7. Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation. Lion's Mane Mushroom. Cognitive Vitality Reports. Updated 14 July 2025. alzdiscovery.org
8. Mori K, Inatomi S, Ouchi K, Azumi Y, Tuchida T. Improving Effects of the Mushroom Yamabushitake (Hericium erinaceus) on Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial. Phytotherapy Research. 2009;23(3):367–372. doi: 10.1002/ptr.2634
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10. Docherty S, Doughty FL, Smith EF. The Acute and Chronic Effects of Lion's Mane Mushroom Supplementation on Cognitive Function, Stress and Mood in Young Adults: A Double-Blind, Parallel Groups, Pilot Study. Nutrients. 2023;15(22):4842. doi: 10.3390/nu15224842
11. Surendran G, Saye J, Binti Mohd Jalil S, Spreadborough J, Duong K, Shatwan IM, Lilley D, Heinrich M, Dodd GF, Surendran S. Acute Effects of a Standardised Extract of Hericium erinaceus (Lion's Mane Mushroom) on Cognition and Mood in Healthy Younger Adults: A Double-Blind Randomised Placebo-Controlled Study. Frontiers in Nutrition. 2025;12:1405796. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1405796
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