This study was carried out to Investigate the effects of Panax ginseng, Ganoderma lucidum extract and crude polysaccharide of G. lucidum on the growth of lactic acid bacteria. p. ginseng extract contained 60.7% carbohydrate and 27.5% protein, whereas G. lucidum contained 35.9% carbohydrate and 46.3% protein. The total sugar and protein content of crude polysaccharide of G. lucidum were 47.2% and 15.2%, respectively. Two amino acids(hg, Trp) were detected in p. ginseng extract and 11 amino acids (hg, Trp, Ua, Lys, Ser, etc.) in C. lucidum extract. By the addition of p. ginseng, 5. lucidum extract and crude polysaccharide, the cia. p. ginseng was more effective on the growth of 1. casei an: G. lucidum was more effective on that of S. thermophilus. The effect of free amino acids on the growth of tactic acid bacteria was also examined. Arginine and lysine stimulated the growth of L. casei, whereas Lysine, serine, arginine, and glutamic acid stimulated the growth of 5. thermophilus.