Lion's Mane for Depression
Lion's Mane (Hericium erinaceus) shows only weak, preliminary signals for depression, drawn from a handful of small, low-quality trials. It is not an established treatment, and people with depression should not rely on it in place of proven care.
Why this grade7-layer evidence engine
The grade is C (Weak Evidence) because the human data are thin and methodologically limited. The most-cited trial (PMID 20834180, Nagano 2010) was a small double-blind study of just 30 menopausal women in which depression was only a secondary outcome and no effect sizes or p-values were reported. An open-label trial in overweight and obese adults (PMID 31118969, Vigna 2019) reported a roughly 35% drop in depression scores but had no placebo group, so the result is hard to interpret.
Signals are also inconsistent. A 2025 double-blind acute trial in 18 healthy, non-depressed adults (PMID 40276537) found no effect on mood, and it was industry-funded. A 2025 systematic review (PMID 40959699) concluded the mushroom may reduce depression and anxiety symptoms but pooled no effect estimate and rested on small, mostly low-quality trials. Crucially, there is no double-blind, placebo-controlled RCT in clinically diagnosed depression.
Regulators and clinicians have not endorsed this use. The US FDA ceased evaluating the relevant GRAS notice and approves no health claim, while EU EFSA has its botanical claims on hold. The NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, Harvard Health, and the American Psychiatric Association are all silent on Lion's Mane for depression. A heavy industry-funding footprint further tempers confidence.
Scoring transparency
All scores computed by a 7-layer evidence engine — fully auditable▸View the full decision path (audit trail)
- compute_raw_score — 加權公式: L2×0.30 + L3×0.25 + L5×0.25 + L11×0.10 + L1×0.10 = 0.551
- tier_from_score — 依分數區間映射至 tier letter
- apply_hec_rules — 無高階證據可裁決
- tier_strict_requirement_check — | B→C 因 scope.conflation_risk=true 且 L11 獨評較低 (B7-2 tier cap)
- detect_disputes — 偵測到 0 個 hard + 1 個 soft dispute
- decide_status — 依 tier + dispute 結果決定 status