Comment · Tue, September 16, 2025 · ND Owner
Is Red Reishi 9% and Lucidimax worth the cost when Lucidispore offers more ganoderic acids for less?
Original post in this thread
DoctorBoneMarrow · 9 points
I took some info from this thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/NootropicsDepot/comments/1me780g/new\_products\_alert\_cyatherm\_capsules\_lucidimax/
* Lucidispore (30ml): A minimum of 9g (total) of ganoderic acids for $59.99.
* Red Reishi 9% (180 caps): A minimum of 2.43g (total) of ganoderic acids for $99.99.
* Lucidimax (60 servings/120 caps): A minimum of 1.32g (total) of ganoderic acids for $69.99.
I understand ganoderic acids aren't the whole picture when it comes to Reishi and that you miss out on the immune-enhancing benefits of the beta-glucans from the fruiting bodies. However even accounting for that, the difference in price is enormous.
I can buy Lucidispore and address the immune support aspect separately with something like Turkey Tail, and the total cost per mg of ganoderic acids would still be much lower than buying Red Reishi 9% or Lucidimax. I could even buy Immune Defense, which also contains Reishi, take just a half-serving alongisde Lucidispore, and Lucidimax would still be more expensive.
**A. Lucidispore (portioned…
What they were answering
Direct reply to the original post — see the thread post above.
u/MisterYouAreSoDumb · ND Owner
Lucidispore is a supercritical CO2 extract of just reishi spores. It has triterpenes from the spores of reishi, but no ganoderic acids from the mycelium and fruiting bodies. They are totally different bioactives. They are obviously related, being triterpenoids from reishi. However, they are not the same compounds. The bulk of the human clinical research on reishi is on the fruiting bodies, and the ganoderic acids found in them. That being said, the spores of reishi are what is most popular in China right now. It's a really hot market there, so people are really liking the spores. I am sure more research will follow with that popularity, but for now the science is mostly on the fruiting bodies.
Also, as you said, Lucidispore will have no other bioactives from reishi, like beta-glucans and polysaccharides, so you will not be getting the comprehensive effects from the entire reishi fungus. Lucidimax has reishi broken spore powder, plus a high beta-glucan fruiting body powder, and a high ganoderic acid fruiting body extract. It will give you all the bioactives that reishi has to offer. You could take Lucidispore with turkey tail or Immune Defense, but again, they are very different products. Every mushroom's unique beta-glucans and polysaccharides are different, and have different benefits. Just because they are all in the same general class of compounds doesn't mean they do the same things. It's the same with plany polyphenols and flavonoids. If you just looked at total polyphenols and flavonoids, you might think an olive oil extract will do the same thing as a citrus extract, but they certainly have very different effects. The same goes for mushrooms. Don't make the mistake of conflating beta-glucans as a single closely-related grouping of compounds that all do the same thing in every species.