Dietary thione research compound · Fact sheet
Ergothioneine
Also known as L-ergothioneine
Ergothioneine is a food-derived compound that humans absorb and retain. Higher blood levels are associated with lower disease and mortality risk in observational work, but supplementation has not been shown to cause those long-term benefits.
What is Ergothioneine?
Ergothioneine is a sulfur-containing histidine derivative found in foods such as mushrooms.
A blood concentration can reflect diet and physiology, not only supplement exposure.
Benefits & claims
Interest in Ergothioneine spans aging and energy, cognition and sleep. Study findings apply to the named formulation and population.
What the evidence supports
- Oral administration increased measured ergothioneine levels.
- Higher baseline levels predicted lower risk in a dietary cohort, with confounding still possible.
- Association and absorption do not establish that a supplement extends life or prevents dementia.
Research areas
- Formulation-specific human outcomes
- Mechanistic research
Dosage & frequency
No established human regimenThe reviewed sources do not establish a human treatment amount or frequency for Ergothioneine. Animal and laboratory exposures are not human regimens.
How to read these amounts
An approved regimen belongs to a specific product, indication, and population. A study regimen describes what researchers tested; it does not establish a prescription or a safe self-use protocol. Products, routes, and formulations are not interchangeable. A prescriber uses the full label and individual clinical circumstances.
Personal accounts may describe amounts, schedules and outcomes beyond clinical research. They do not establish a regimen. Read the reported experiences
Formulations, interactions & practical context
- Identity and pharmacology
- Ergothioneine is a sulfur-containing histidine derivative found in foods such as mushrooms.
Formulation differences
- A blood concentration can reflect diet and physiology, not only supplement exposure.
Interactions & precautions
- The reviewed sources do not establish a comprehensive human interaction profile for this exact substance or combination.
What is still unresolved
- Reproducibility in larger independent trials
- Long-term outcomes and adverse effects
- Equivalence of different preparations and interaction profiles
Side effects & risks
- Short exposure studies cannot establish uncommon harms, drug interactions or chronic high-exposure safety.
- Changes in oxidative-stress markers are not a complete clinical safety assessment.
This is a summary of the cited evidence, not a complete product label. A lack of human safety data does not establish safety.
Clinical research
Early human evidenceA human administration study established uptake and retention. The long-term mortality findings come from an observational cohort, not a randomized supplement trial.
Studies
Human uptake, metabolism and biomarker study.
3,236-person observational dietary cohort with long follow-up.
Personal experiences
Reports describe what someone noticed. They cannot establish cause, typical results, or how often a side effect happens. Amounts and schedules describe the individual account, not an effective or safe dose. Product identity and strength may be unverified, and missing details are left explicit.
No attributable personal accounts were found in the sources reviewed.
Approval status
No FDA-approved Ergothioneine drug indication is established for the supplement uses discussed here. Supplement availability is not FDA approval of efficacy or safety.
No FDA-approved product for this entry
Approval covers the labeled product, use and population. A trial phase does not establish success; a stopped program is not ongoing research.
Open questions
- Reproducibility in larger independent trials
- Long-term outcomes and adverse effects
- Equivalence of different preparations and interaction profiles
Summary
Association and absorption do not establish that a supplement extends life or prevents dementia.
Sources
Medical evidence and regulatory sources are listed here. Personal reports are linked separately in the experiences section.
- pubmedAdministration of Pure Ergothioneine to Healthy Human Subjects: Uptake, Metabolism, and Effects on Biomarkers of Oxidative Damage and Inflammation.
Human uptake, metabolism and biomarker study.
- pubmedErgothioneine is associated with reduced mortality and decreased risk of cardiovascular disease.
3,236-person observational dietary cohort with long follow-up.
- fdaFDA: what approval means for supplements
Dietary supplements are not approved by FDA for safety and effectiveness before marketing.