Background

In 1909, ergothioneine was first found and isolated by Charles Tanret from Claviceps Purpurea, an ergot fungus. It is an amino acid and is only synthesised by microbes, such as fungi, yeasts and is found commonly in mushrooms.

The original property of ergothioneine is to help the microorganisms survive in a stressed environment. The microorganisms themselves are responsible for the synthesis of ergothioneine. Based on the scientific evidence, ergothioneine acts as an antioxidant also in animal body and possibly in human body, like other well-known dietary nutrients such as vitamin C, vitamin E and selenium. In a recent Sweden cohort study, the baseline level of ergothioneine is found significantly associated with reduced death caused by heart disease (HR* per SD* increase of ergothioneine; HR=0.76, 95%CI 0.67 to 0.88, p=7e-4).
*HR, hazard ratio. SD, standard deviation.

BLQ: Below Limit of Quantification. LC-MS/MS: Liquid Chromatography-tandem Mass Spectrometry.

Table 1. Content of Erg in mushrooms.

Table 2. Content of Erg in vegetables & fruits.

Table 3. Content of Erg in grain & seed & nut.

Table 4. Content of Erg in animal source food.

Table 5. Content of Erg in commercial products.

Metabolic syndrome is a group of risk factors that increase peoples’ risks in diabetes and heart disease. The risk factors include elevated waist circumference, elevated blood pressure, elevated blood cholesterol, elevated blood sugar with reduced HDL (good cholesterol).

HDL stands for high-density lipoprotein. HDL could transfer the cholesterol from the other site of your body to the liver, then your liver would clean the cholesterol out of your body. A high level of HDL could help you to lower risks from stroke and heart disease.

Criteria/Threshold for metabolic syndrome (adapted from the latest consensus Alberti et al., 2009):