How to Read a Mushroom Supplement Label (UK Guide)
Section 01 · Introduction
Reading time: about 6 minutes.
When I was working out QiMycology's own labels, I realised that two mushroom supplements can have the same mushroom on the front, the same price, a similar pouch, and still be completely different products. Most of the difference is on the label, or missing from it.
So this is how I read one now, in the order I'd check things. It takes about thirty seconds once you know where to look. I've used UK rules throughout, so you'll also know what a label has to tell you by law.
Section 02 · Education: what to check, in order
1. The species name
"Lion's Mane" is a common name. The species is Hericium erinaceus. "Reishi" usually means Ganoderma lucidum or the closely related Ganoderma lingzhi, which were treated as one species for a long time. Common names can be a bit loose, so a Latin name is a small sign the brand knows exactly what it's using. No Latin name doesn't make it a bad product, but it's useful when it's there.
2. Fruiting body or mycelium
This is the one that explains most of the difference between two "same name" products.
The fruiting body is the mushroom itself, the bit you'd recognise. Mycelium is the root-like network the fungus grows through. For supplements, mycelium is often grown on grain like rice or oats, and then the mycelium and grain are dried and ground up together.
That can give you quite a different powder. If the mycelium was grown on grain and ground up with it, part of what's in the pouch is the grain itself, and grain is mostly starch.
That doesn't mean fruiting body is always better. Mycelium has compounds the fruiting body doesn't: in Lion's Mane, a group called erinacines is found mainly in the mycelium. Producers really do disagree about which is best. What matters is that you can find out which one you're buying. If the label doesn't say, it's completely reasonable to email the brand and ask.
3. Extract or powder, and what "10:1" means
A powder is usually the dried mushroom (or mycelium), ground. Nothing's taken out.
An extract has been simmered in hot water, alcohol or both to pull certain compounds out, then concentrated and dried. Hot water mostly pulls out water-soluble things like polysaccharides; alcohol pulls out things that don't dissolve in water, like the triterpenes behind a lot of Reishi's bitterness. So an extract has a different mix of compounds from the mushroom it came from, and usually a stronger taste. That's a difference in what's in it. It doesn't make it automatically more effective.
Lots of extracts give a ratio, like 10:1. That means roughly ten parts of raw material went in to make one part of extract. It tells you how concentrated it is overall, but not what was concentrated, or how much of any particular compound is in there. Two 10:1 extracts made different ways can be quite different.
Some brands also give a compound percentage. Check exactly what was measured and how: "polysaccharides" is a broad category, and a polysaccharide test can also pick up other carbohydrates, including starch. So a percentage tells you something about the extract, but it isn't a quality score on its own.
4. Amount per serving, not per pack
The big number on the front could be per pack, per serving or per day. Turn it over and find three things:
- The serving size (say, 3 g, or two capsules)
- How much of each ingredient is in one serving
- How many servings are in the pack
Those three let you compare properly. If one product has 1,200 mg of something per serving and another has 500 mg, that matters a lot more than how big the pack looks. A label that lists every ingredient with its own amount, rather than lumping them together as a "proprietary blend", is much easier to compare.
5. Everything else in there
Check what else is in it besides the mushrooms and herbs. Capsule shells, flavourings and carriers (like maltodextrin, which is sometimes used when drying extracts) aren't necessarily a problem, but you're paying for them, and they should be in the ingredients list.
6. The UK basics
In the UK, supplements are regulated as food. On top of the normal food labelling rules, the Food Supplements Regulations 2003 (with equivalent versions for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) say a supplement label has to include:
- The words "food supplement"
- The categories of nutrients or substances that characterise the product
- The recommended daily portion
- A warning not to go over the recommended daily dose
- A statement that food supplements shouldn't be used as a substitute for a varied diet
- A statement to keep it out of reach of young children
- The amount of each nutrient or substance per daily portion
The same rules also say a label can't suggest that a balanced, varied diet can't give you enough nutrients. General food rules add the ingredients list, allergens (emphasised in the list), net quantity, a best-before date, storage instructions, and the name and UK address of the business responsible.
7. What the front is allowed to say
In Great Britain, a food or supplement can only make a health claim (a claim that it does something for your body) if that exact claim has been authorised. No supplement is allowed to claim it prevents, treats or cures a disease. So, honestly, if the front of a mushroom supplement makes big promises, that's a reason to read the back more carefully, not less.
Section 03 · The QiMycology connection
I wrote this partly because I had to work all of it out for our own labels, and partly because it's the guide I'd want you to use on us.
Both of our blends list each extract with its own amount per 3 g serving. Each pouch is 120 g, so about 40 servings. In 2026, samples of both blends were tested by an independent accredited laboratory for microbes, heavy metals and nutritional content.
There's one thing on this list our label doesn't show: whether our mushroom extracts come from the fruiting body or the mycelium. So I asked, and I'd rather tell you here than leave you guessing: our supplier has confirmed that our Lion's Mane and Reishi extracts come from the fruiting body.
If you'd like to see every extract and its amount side by side, it's all on How We Design Our Formulas.
Section 04 · Meet the blends
Qi Adaptogen Blend · our daytime blend
Per 3 g serving: Lion's Mane extract 1,200 mg, Astragalus extract 1,000 mg, Schisandra extract 500 mg, Rhodiola extract 300 mg. 120 g pouch, about 40 servings. Vegan. Made in China, shipped from the UK.
See the full Qi Adaptogen label →
Qi Harmony Blend · our evening blend
Per 3 g serving: Reishi extract 1,200 mg, Suan Zao Ren extract 1,200 mg, Ashwagandha extract 600 mg. 120 g pouch, about 40 servings. Vegan. Made in China, shipped from the UK.
Contains ashwagandha: the UK Food Standards Agency advises pregnant women and people with existing liver conditions to avoid ashwagandha supplements. Not recommended while breastfeeding or for under-18s.
See the full Qi Harmony label →
Section 05 · The 30-second version
Next time you pick up a mushroom supplement, check:
- Is the species named, ideally in Latin?
- Fruiting body or mycelium? If mycelium, does it say what it was grown on?
- Extract or powder? If there's a ratio or a percentage, do you know what it actually measures?
- How much of each ingredient per serving, and how many servings in the pack?
- What else is in it?
- Does it have the UK basics: "food supplement", the daily dose and warnings, a UK address?
- Does the front promise more than the back can back up?
None of these makes a product good or bad on its own. Together, they tell you what you're actually buying. And if you're pregnant, breastfeeding, taking medication or managing a health condition, check with your GP or pharmacist before starting any new supplement.
Section 06 · Try it on a real label
Both of ours are on the product pages. If anything on them doesn't make sense, email hello@qimycology.com and I'll explain it.