To further enhance the accumulation of the bioactive metabolite ganoderic acid (GA) by fermentation of the medicinal mushroom Ganoderma lucidum, a novel integrated strategy was developed by simultaneously adopting a strategy of multiple Cu(2+) additions, three-stage light irradiation and multi-pulse feeding of carbon and nitrogen sources. Maximal GA content (i.e., 4.1 mg/100 mg DW) and production (i.e., 720.8 mg/L) were obtained using the novel integrated strategy. Not only the biomass but also the total GA production obtained in this work is the highest reported for a shaker flask culture of G. lucidum. This work is useful for the large-scale production of GA by G. lucidum fermentation. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.