Standardized Lion's Mane mycelium with 1% (10 mg/g) Erinacine A. Grown in liquid culture, then freeze-dried.
ErinaPrime™ is 100% Lion's Mane mycelium, freeze-dried into a powder and standardized to 1% Erinacine A. Erinacine A is a compound that only develops in the mycelium of Lion's Mane. It is not present in the mushroom. The powder contains no grain substrate, no added starch, and no fillers.
U.S. Grown lion's mane mycelium fermented grain is more grain than mycelium.
If you've evaluated Lion's Mane mycelium ingredients before, these are the points where ErinaPrime™ diverges from mycelium fermented grain.
ErinaPrime™ is freeze-dried Lion's Mane mycelium. The mycelium is grown in liquid culture and separated from the substrate before drying, so the finished powder has no grain, no starch, and no carrier material in it.
Every batch is assayed for Erinacine A and released at 1% (10 mg/g) or higher. Testing uses validated HPLC methods from accredited third-party labs.
Mycelium fermented grain is inexpensive because most of it is grain. ErinaPrime™ delivers cost effective options for Erinacine A delivery.
The label looks the same. The material is not. Here's what shows up on a typical mycelium fermented grain spec sheet versus ErinaPrime™.
Erinacine A is a diterpenoid from the cyathane family. The reason it's useful as a formulation target is that it only develops in the mycelium of Lion's Mane. Mushroom extracts do not contain it.
Erinacine A is small and lipophilic enough to cross the blood-brain barrier. In published research, it functions as a stimulator of NGF (nerve growth factor) and BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) signaling, two of the central pathways in neurogenesis and synaptic plasticity.
The amount used in human structure-function studies is around 3 mg of Erinacine A. At 10 mg/g of Erinacine A in ErinaPrime™, an effective dose would start at 300mg.
* Based on internal HPLC testing at Nammex.
The research below was conducted on ErinaPrime™, not on a different Lion's Mane preparation or on isolated Erinacine A.
Peer-reviewed study published in 2024. Looked at cognitive endpoints in adults supplementing with standardized Lion's Mane mycelium with verified erinacine A.
Peer-reviewed study published in 2022. Investigated neural support for auditory function using standardized Lion's Mane mycelium with verified erinacine A.
Our manufacturing partner has additional human clinical work currently in progress on this same ingredient. Results will be made available as they're published.
Nammex has been producing mushroom ingredients since 1989. Almost all of that history is in Certified Organic mushroom extracts from species like reishi, turkey tail, cordyceps, and lion's mane, with verified beta-glucan and measured secondary compounds.
ErinaPrime™ is the start of pure mycelium standardized to Erinacine A. Erinacine A only develops in the mycelium of Lion's Mane and is not present in the mushroom, so this is an important active we couldn't deliver from our existing extract line.
Still have questions? Ask us directly.
Most products labeled as Lion's Mane mycelium are mycelium fermented grain. The mycelium is grown on a sterile grain substrate (typically oats, sorghum, or rice) and then both the grain and mycelium are dried and milled together. By weight, the finished material is more grain than mycelium. Erinacine A content in mycelium fermented grain is typically low or below the limit of detection.
ErinaPrime™ is grown in a liquid substrate instead of grain. The mycelium is harvested from the liquid medium and dried as a separate material, so the finished powder is 100% mycelium and is released at 1% Erinacine A or higher.
No. Not all the liquid substrate inputs are Certified Organic so ErinaPrime™ is unable to be USDA Certified Organic. It still has a clean pesticide report due to the controlled production environment.
Submerged liquid fermentation. The mycelium is grown in sterile liquid media inside controlled fermentation vessels. The growth conditions are optimized for Erinacine A expression. After growth, the mycelium is separated from the liquid, freeze-dried at low temperature, and milled into a fine powder.
Every batch ships with a Certificate of Analysis. The COA includes the measured Erinacine A content. The release threshold is 1% (10 mg/g) minimum. We recommend all brands verify their supplier COAs.
Per kilo, ErinaPrime™ costs more than mycelium fermented grain as it is pure mycelium. Per milligram of erinacine A, it delivers clinical endpoints at a fraction of the cost.
Most mycelium fermented grain ingredients have trace or non-detectable Erinacine A, so on a per milligram of active basis the effective cost is high (and in some cases undefined because the compound isn't present in measurable quantity). The price of ErinaPrime™ also reflects the controlled cultivation process, batch-level analytical testing, and the funded clinical research program on the ingredient.
It's a mycelium ingredient. The mycelium is the vegetative body of the Lion's Mane organism (Hericium erinaceus). It is not a mushroom as a mushroom and mycelium are both distinct fungal parts of these unique organisms.
Erinacine A is a mycelium specific compound. That's why ErinaPrime™ is standardized on it.
Request a sample, ask for the spec sheet and a representative COA, or schedule a call to discuss how ErinaPrime™ fits into your next formulation.
