Ergothioneine

ergothioneine · EGT

A mushroom-derived antioxidant proposed as a possible 'longevity vitamin'.

TipoSupplement / dietary

Il voto risponde a: What does the human evidence support for: Cellular antioxidant / "longevity vitamin"?

Grado

Limitata

Il voto misura la qualità dell'evidenza, non è un consiglio ad assumere o acquistare.

Classe: Amino acid antioxidant
Uso principale: Cellular antioxidant / "longevity vitamin"
Forza evidenza: low
Ultima revisione: 2026-07-01

In sintesi

Genuinely interesting: the body has a dedicated transporter for it, and lower blood levels track with worse aging outcomes. But that's association — no trial yet shows that taking it changes anything.

Cosa dice l'evidenza

Ergothioneine is unusual because human cells express a specific transporter (OCTN1) that concentrates it in tissues under oxidative stress — a strong hint the body values it, which is why some researchers call it a candidate 'longevity vitamin'. Observational studies link lower blood ergothioneine to higher cardiovascular and mortality risk and cognitive decline. What's missing is interventional proof: no randomized trial has shown that supplementing it improves outcomes. Grade C: compelling biology and epidemiology, zero outcome trials.

Studi chiave

[1]
Ergothioneine blood levels and mortality/cardiometabolic risk · observational
Lower levels associated with worse outcomes — not causal.
Apri su PubMed ↗
[2]
Ergothioneine as a longevity vitamin (review) · review
Argues the case from transporter biology and epidemiology.
Apri su PubMed ↗
[3]
Ergothioneine and cognitive aging · observational
Associations with cognition; interventional data absent.
Apri su PubMed ↗

Vedi tutti gli studi su PubMed ↗

Meccanismo

A potent, stable antioxidant selectively accumulated by cells via the OCTN1 transporter, concentrating in mitochondria and tissues exposed to oxidative stress; dietary sources are chiefly mushrooms.

Sicurezza

Appears very safe in the limited human data, with high tolerability; long-term supplementation safety is not yet well characterised.

Contesto dosaggio

Dietary intake varies with mushroom consumption; supplement trials are few and doses not standardised. Because the evidence is associational, an 'optimal' dose is undefined.

Esempi di applicazione

Obtained mainly from mushrooms in the diet.
Supplement doses aren't standardised, since evidence is associational.
A 'watch this space' longevity candidate, not a proven one.

Nota dal campo

Ergothioneine is the most interesting molecule here with the least interventional proof: a dedicated transporter and strong associations, but nobody has yet shown that a pill helps. Grade C, and one of the more honest 'watch this space' entries.

Molecole correlate

N-Acetylcysteine (NAC)C TaurineC

Come assegniamo i gradi → Metodo