Researchers from Egypt and Saudi Arabia have developed an innovative progesterone-reishi mushroom composite, published in RSC Advances, that could revolutionize hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and breast cancer treatments. By encapsulating progesterone in Ganoderma lucidum (reishi), the team achieved 98.1% loading efficiency and sustained release of 88.25% over 48 hours—far outperforming free progesterone's rapid 2-4 hour dissolution.