How to know that Ganoderma is moldy and how to handle moldy Ganoderma?

Using moldy reishi mushrooms will harm the health of users. So how to know that Ganoderma is moldy and how to handle it? Let's find out in the article below!

Ganoderma lucidum is a woody herb, containing about 90% of water, so it is easy to be attacked by termites and termites. If not stored properly, it can easily lead to mold. Therefore, to ensure safety, users need to have full knowledge from how to know when Ganoderma is moldy and how to handle it when it is moldy. Check out the article below!

Harm when using moldy Ganoderma

Ganoderma is very precious and not cheap, so there are cases when even knowing that Ganoderma is moldy, you still try to use it for fear of cost. But doing so is not only ineffective, but also unintentionally "losing money", causing many harms to health. 

According to research from medical experts, Ganoderma lucidum worms, mold will begin to produce mycotoxins. If used, it can cause swelling of the hands and feet and especially can lead to a high risk of cancer. When moldy, Ganoderma not only loses the flavor of the mushroom, but it also loses some of the medicinal properties of the fungus and produces a lot of toxic mycotoxins, namely aflatoxin, which causes cancer. Aflatoxin is extremely toxic, it causes bad effects on the human body: 

• Directly acting on DNA, inhibiting the synthesis of DNA, RNA and Polymerase 
• Stops the synthesis of DNA 
• Inhibits the synthesis of messenger RNA and DNA 
• Causes deformation of the cell nucleus
• Decreased protein synthesis 

Using moldy reishi mushrooms is not good for health

When using Ganoderma lucidum, it is easy to cause harmful effects such as swelling of the hands and feet, and hepatocellular carcinoma due to the effect of the biochemical process on the liver cells of the mold.

How do you know that Ganoderma is moldy?

When harvested, Ganoderma lucidum will be in the form of a wood, so its ability to hold water and absorb moisture is very high. After harvesting, Ganoderma lucidum will be put into an oven to dry until the moisture is only about 10-12% to ensure that it does not lose its medicinal properties. If Ganoderma lucidum is often exposed to the outside air or stored in places with high humidity, it will easily cause mold and termite attacks.

How to know Ganoderma is moldy, poor quality?

To identify moldy Ganoderma lucidum is also quite simple. Moldy Ganoderma lucidum will often appear tiny green spots like powdery moss covering the underside of the mushroom's ears. Or mold can be detected under the fruiting cap of the fungus. Usually, the underside of the red reishi mushroom is white or yellow-white. In some cases, the seller found that the mushroom often used rubbing alcohol, so the underside of the mushroom turned black. If you see this color on the underside, it can be suspected that the mushroom is poisoned and should not be purchased or used.

Why is Ganoderma moldy? How to preserve? 

Reishi mushrooms are moldy due to not being dried properly, not being stored properly. In particular, because Ganoderma is an herb, it is not possible to use ordinary chemicals to fight termites like commonly used wood. To avoid mold, it is necessary to handle and store the following: 

- Day 1: After harvesting, reishi mushrooms should be dried in the sun for about 6-7 hours until the underside of the mushrooms is creamy or yellow. 

- Day 2: Flip the back and continue to dry the mushrooms in the sun for about 3-4 hours until the back turns red, then bring to a shady area and then use a fan to dry.

- Day 3: Continue to dry Ganoderma in the sun for 4-6 hours until the underside of the mushroom turns creamy yellow. 

- Day 4: Leave the mushrooms in a shady, dry place, avoid places with moisture, rain and use a fan to dry. 

After drying, you can store Ganoderma in a dry glass jar or put it in a tightly closed plastic bag to limit mold.

How to deal with moldy Ganoderma

Ganoderma is very susceptible to mold, so when you buy it, you need to know how to know if it is moldy to avoid buying poor quality products. However, if you do not know how to store it carefully, even if it is a good quality reishi mushroom, it will be susceptible to mold and termites. 

How to handle Ganoderma when moldy

Therefore, you need to regularly check to detect and treat immediately when Ganoderma shows signs of mold, termites. At this time, use a knife to immediately cut the moldy or termite-infested part of the fungus and then scrape off the moldy reishi mushroom layer to prevent them from eating deeply into the mushroom body. Then, remember to change the mushrooms to another bag and store them in a clean, dry place. Should be used quickly and avoided for too long. 

Hopefully, the above article will help you have more knowledge to recognize " how to know that Ganoderma is moldy " and have a timely treatment to avoid reducing the quality and use of Ganoderma lucidum.