Supplement: Ergothionein

What It Is

Ergothioneine is a sulfur-containing amino acid, and every molecule comes from the diet. Fungi and certain soil bacteria build it, and plants and animals take it up from there and pass it along the food chain.

The biochemist Bruce Ames proposed the name "longevity vitamin" in 2018 for a small group of diet-derived compounds not strictly essential for survival but possibly important for a long, healthy life.

What It Does

Three separate groups of people have been followed over time. Those who started with more ergothioneine in the blood went on to die at lower rates, to develop fewer heart problems, and to lose cognitive function more slowly. Among older adults, a low reading predicted faster decline in thinking and memory.

The Research & Studies

Everything here is based on the research we have collected and checked, sorted into groups and ordered with the strongest evidence first. Click any claim to open the studies behind it.

How it works

Der Körper besitzt einen spezialisierten Transporter (OCTN1 / SLC22A4), der Ergothionein aktiv in Geweben konzentriertModerate · mixed

In plain terms

Menschen haben eine spezifische, genetisch kodierte Pumpe, die Ergothionein aus der Nahrung aufnimmt und in Geweben speichert, was Forscher vermuten lässt, dass der Körper es für irgendetwas benötigt.

In detail

Ergothionein wird von einem spezifischen Transporter aufgenommen, OCTN1, kodiert durch das Gen SLC22A4, das 2005 als Ergothionein-Transporter mit hoher Affinität identifiziert wurde. Der Körper nimmt es bereitwillig auf, scheidet wenig davon aus (unter 4 Prozent einer oralen Dosis im Urin) und konzentriert es in Geweben unter oxidativem Stress, wie roten Blutkörperchen, der Leber und der Augenlinse. Ein spezialisierter Transporter ist das Hauptargument dafür, dass Ergothionein eine physiologische Rolle spielt und nicht als inerter Nahrungsbestandteil durchläuft. Ein spezialisierter Transporter zeigt, dass der Körper Ergothionein gezielt verarbeitet; allein beweist dies keinen gesundheitlichen Nutzen oder dass eine Supplementierung hilft.

The study · 1

Grundemann et al., Discovery of the ergothioneine transporter · Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2005;102(14):5256-5261

Longevity And Mortality

Höheres Ergothionein im Blut ging pro 1 SD mit etwa 14 % geringerer Gesamtmortalität und 21 % geringerer kardiovaskulärer Sterblichkeit einherPreliminary

In plain terms

Schwedische Erwachsene mit mehr Ergothionein im Blut hatten über die nächsten etwa 20 Jahre eine geringere Wahrscheinlichkeit zu sterben oder eine Herzerkrankung zu entwickeln oder daran zu sterben, etwa 14 bis 21 % geringeres Risiko pro Anstiegsstufe des Spiegels.

In detail

Bei 3,236 schwedischen Erwachsenen, die zu Studienbeginn frei von kardiovaskulärer Erkrankung und Diabetes waren, war jede um 1 Standardabweichung höhere Ergothionein-Plasmakonzentration über einen Median von 21.4 Jahren mit einem um 14 % geringeren Risiko für Tod jeglicher Ursache assoziiert (Hazard Ratio 0.86), 21 % geringerer kardiovaskulärer Mortalität (0.79) und 15 % geringerem Risiko für koronare Erkrankung (0.85), nach Adjustierung für Alter, Geschlecht, Body-Mass-Index, Blutfette, Blutdruck, Rauchen und Alkohol. Measured in: 3,236 adults (61% women), mean age 57, from the population-based Malmo Diet and Cancer study, Sweden. What could explain it instead: Ergothioneine was the metabolite most tightly linked to a health-conscious food pattern (fish, vegetables, whole grains), so a higher level may mark a better overall diet and the healthier life around it, not an effect of the compound. Reverse causation is also possible: early or hidden illness can lower the level, making a low reading look more harmful than it is.. Eine Beobachtungskohortenstudie, die den bereits im Blut vorhandenen Spiegel maß; niemand erhielt Ergothionein, daher kann dies nicht belegen, dass die Verbindung die niedrigere Sterblichkeitsrate verursacht hat.

The study · 1

Smith et al., Ergothioneine is associated with reduced mortality and decreased risk of cardiovascular disease · Heart 2020;106(9):691-697

Cognition

Niedrigeres Plasma-Ergothionein sagte bei älteren Erwachsenen einen schnelleren kognitiven und funktionellen Abbau vorausPreliminary

In plain terms

Ältere Erwachsene mit weniger Ergothionein im Blut neigten dazu, zu Beginn schlechter zu denken und zu funktionieren und in den folgenden Jahren schneller abzubauen, sowohl bei der Gedächtnisleistung als auch bei mehreren anderen kognitiven Fähigkeiten.

In detail

Unter 470 älteren Erwachsenen, die Gedächtniskliniken in Singapur besuchten, sagte ein niedrigerer Plasma-Ergothionein-Spiegel zu Studienbeginn schlechtere kognitive Leistungen und im Verlauf einen schnelleren Abbau in den Bereichen Gedächtnis, Exekutivfunktion, Aufmerksamkeit, Verarbeitungsgeschwindigkeit und Sprache sowie einen schnelleren funktionellen Abbau voraus. Die longitudinale Assoziation bestand auch bei Menschen, die noch keine Demenz hatten. Measured in: 470 older adults attending memory clinics, Singapore. What could explain it instead: Being unwell lowers ergothioneine, so a low level in a declining person may be a consequence of failing health, not a cause of it (reverse causation). Diet quality and general health also differ between people with high and low levels.. Eine Beobachtungskohortenstudie mit Personen, die bereits Gedächtniskliniken besuchten; sie maß den Spiegel, ohne Supplementierung, und kann daher nicht belegen, dass eine Erhöhung des Ergothionein-Spiegels den Abbau verlangsamen würde.

The study · 1

Wu et al., Low Plasma Ergothioneine Predicts Cognitive and Functional Decline in an Elderly Cohort Attending Memory Clinics · Antioxidants (Basel) 2022;11(9):1717

A Marker, Not Yet a Medicine

Every one of those findings measured ergothioneine already in the blood; none gave the compound to anyone. The level rises with a diet rich in mushrooms, fish, vegetables and whole grains, the same health-conscious eating pattern that tracks with lower disease on its own. In the largest study, ergothioneine was the single metabolite most tightly linked to that pattern. So the diet may account for part of the tie between a high level and a longer life. Illness can also lower the level.

A low reading can therefore be a result of poor health as well as a possible driver of it.

The strongest argument that ergothioneine has a real role is biological. The body evolved a specific transporter just for ergothioneine, and a molecule with its own transporter usually has a function. That is a reason to keep studying it. It does not show that a capsule extends anyone's life.

What would settle the question is a randomized trial: some people given ergothioneine, others a placebo, real outcomes followed over years. None has been run for lifespan, heart disease or dementia. When purified ergothioneine was given to healthy adults, it did not clearly change markers of oxidative damage or inflammation. One early study finding nothing may simply mean a healthy body has little to fix.

How It Works

Ergothioneine enters through a carrier protein, works as an antioxidant in the lab, and gathers in the tissues under most oxidative strain.

Anatomy of the Practice

1A dedicated transporter pulls it from food (shown in humans)

Ergothioneine is absorbed and retained by a specific transporter, OCTN1, encoded by the gene SLC22A4, identified in 2005 as its carrier. The body absorbs it avidly and excretes very little: under 4 percent of an oral dose in the urine. It then concentrates the rest in tissues under oxidative stress: red blood cells, the liver and the lens of the eye. This handling is well established in people.

2It behaves as an antioxidant and cytoprotectant (mostly cells and animals)

In the laboratory ergothioneine scavenges reactive oxygen species, binds metal ions that would otherwise drive oxidation, and protects cells under stress. This chemistry is well characterized in cells and animal models. Whether it translates into a measurable health effect in a living person is the step that has not been demonstrated.

3It accumulates where the body is under strain (mixed evidence)

The transporter switches on in tissues under inflammation and oxidative stress, so ergothioneine builds up right where that strain is greatest. The build-up is documented. Whether more of it actually protects those tissues over a lifetime is the open question the population studies raise.

Do It Yourself

Mushroom content spans a wide range, from about 0.15 to 7.3 milligrams per gram of dry weight depending on the species.

Ways to Do It

The rungs run from everyday food to a purified supplement, with a plain note on what is and is not known about the last one.

1

Eat a variety of mushrooms regularlyFreeEasy

Mushrooms are the highest dietary source by a wide margin. Specialty types (oyster, shiitake, king oyster and porcini) carry the most, and common white button, cremini and portobello carry less but still contribute across a week. A mix of common and specialty types covers the range. This is the route behind essentially all of the evidence that ergothioneine tracks with better health, because that evidence comes from people who ate mushrooms.

2

Cook them, and eat the whole mushroomFreeEasy

Ergothioneine is heat-stable, so cooking keeps most of it, and cooking also makes mushrooms easier to digest and safer than raw. There is no special preparation to preserve it: saute, roast, or add them to soups and stews as usual.

3

Organ meats and beans as minor sources$Easy

Liver, kidney, black and red beans, and oat bran add small amounts, useful if they are already part of how you eat. Mushrooms have several times more, so keep them as the main source.

4

A purified L-ergothioneine supplement$$Easy

Purified L-ergothioneine is sold as a capsule, usually in low milligram doses. You are buying a nutrient with a promising marker profile and no proven benefit. No trial has shown that taking it lengthens life, protects the heart or slows cognitive decline. It is well tolerated at these doses and well absorbed. A capsule can sit on top of a good diet as an experiment for someone who wants it.

Go Deeper

• Medicinal mushrooms: the wider tradition and evidence for mushrooms as food and medicine, where ergothioneine is one thread among many.
• Mediterranean diet: the whole-food eating pattern that carries ergothioneine along with everything else linked to a longer life.
• Dementia: where the cognitive findings fit, and what has and has not been shown to protect the aging brain.
• NMN and NR: another diet-adjacent compound sold for longevity, and a useful comparison for how far a mechanism and marker carry before trials weigh in.

Cautions For This Practice

Extra restraint

Everything to be aware of is here, in one place. This practice suits most healthy people; a few situations call for real care.

Eine 90-tägige Rattenstudie fand bei der höchsten Dosis keine unerwünschten Wirkungen, und Ergothionein war nicht mutagen

In einer 90-tägigen oralen Toxizitätsstudie zeigten Sprague-Dawley-Ratten, denen bis zu 1,600 mg/kg/Tag verabreicht wurden, der höchsten getesteten Dosis, keine unerwünschten Wirkungen (kein beobachtetes Nebenwirkungsniveau bei dieser Dosis), und Ergothionein war im bakteriellen Rückmutationstest (Ames-Test) negativ. Dieses toxikologische Paket unterstützt seine Zulassung als neuartiges Lebensmittel in Europa und seinen sicheren Status für die Lebensmittelverwendung. Eine von einem Nahrungsergänzungsmittelhersteller (Mironova Labs) finanzierte Tiertoxizitätsstudie; sie belegt kurzfristige Sicherheit, keinen Nutzen, und die Langzeitsicherheit bei Menschen, die ein konzentriertes Supplement einnehmen, ist nicht untersucht.Marone et al., A Safety Evaluation of a Nature-Identical L-Ergothioneine in Sprague Dawley Rats

Safe at the doses studied; long-term human safety is unmeasured

Ergothioneine has passed short human studies, and it has been accepted as a novel food in Europe and for food use in the United States. What has not been studied is taking a concentrated supplement for years. Food carries no such open question.

Pregnancy and breastfeeding: get it from food

The transporter for ergothioneine is active in the placenta, and the compound concentrates in the developing baby. Supplementation during pregnancy or breastfeeding has not been studied, so ordinary food such as cooked mushrooms is the safer choice at these times.

It is not a replacement for treatment that works

Because a high blood level tracks with better heart and brain health, a supplement can look like protection. It is not a substitute for the measures with real evidence: managing blood pressure and cholesterol, diet, and activity.

Forage only what you can identify

Eating more mushrooms means cultivated or store-bought ones. Some wild mushrooms are poisonous and easily confused with edible ones. The danger is picking the wrong mushroom, so leave wild foraging to people trained to identify what they pick.

Start slow, be smart, read the research, and consult a professional if you have any concerns. This is here to inform your choice, not make it for you.

Common Questions

Is ergothioneine a vitamin?

Not in the official sense. A vitamin is a compound the body cannot make and must get from food, and its lack produces a defined deficiency disease. Ergothioneine meets one half of that definition, since the body cannot make it, but low levels cause no known deficiency disease. The "longevity vitamin" phrase names a proposed category, and no official body has adopted it.

Is it safe?

At the amounts studied, it looks very safe. It was not mutagenic in a standard genetic test. A 90-day animal study found no harm even at the highest dose tested.