A Comprehensive Meta-Analysis on the Effectiveness and Safety of Lingzhi

Although many studies have been conducted on the chemistry and pharmacological activities of Lingzhi, there is a lack of comprehensive meta-analysis on its effectiveness and safety. In this chapter, we briefly introduced the concept and history of meta-analysis and described how to conduct a meta-analysis; we also constructed a data model and utilized R modules and PERL language to implement a pipeline capable of carrying out multiple meta-analysis automatically. Using Lingzhi as the study subject, we selected 57 outcome measures as the indicators and carried out meta-analysis on 89 datasets. These datasets address several pharmacological effects including immunomodulation, anti-oxidation, and anti-fatigue. The overall results strongly support the notion that Lingzhi has various health-promoting effects. During the process, we have developed an analytical robust pipeline. The results will help the regulatory agencies for new policies regarding the functional food administration. Furthermore, this information can help the health providers to choose Lingzhi products for particular health-promoting goals.