Healthy longevity is the eternal pursuit of mankind. In order to make people age slower, the scientific community has been working hard to find the key to fight aging.
In recent years, an anti-aging substance called "ergothioneine" has gradually emerged. It is currently recognized by the industry as the strongest natural antioxidant on the surface. The discovery of this ingredient dates back more than 100 years. As early as 1909, French pharmacist Charles Tanret accidentally discovered this special substance while studying ergot fungi. After a long period of silence, it was not until recent years that it was focused on and widely used.
Further research found that ergothioneine has many functions such as scavenging free radicals, maintaining DNA biosynthesis, normal cell growth, cell immunity, anti-radiation, whitening and anti-aging. It plays an important role in anti-oxidation and energy regulation. It is a multifunctional cell physiological protector. Therefore, ergothioneine is also known as the "longevity vitamin".
01 Antioxidant mechanism of ergothioneine
Mitochondria are the "energy factories" of most cells in the human body. Studies have shown that mitochondrial dysfunction is an important cause of accelerated aging and is closely related to aging diseases such as cardiovascular disease and neurodegenerative diseases.
Many antioxidant ingredients cannot penetrate the cell membrane into cells and cell mitochondria, while ergothioneine has a clear pathway of action and can penetrate the cell membrane to enter the mitochondria to achieve endogenous antioxidant effects. The operation of ergothioneine in the body mainly depends on a special transporter protein OCTN1. OCTN1 exists in keratinocytes and melanocytes and has a high affinity for ergothioneine, so skin tissues and cells can easily accept, absorb and make full use of ergothioneine.
By carrying intracellular transporters, ergothioneine can directly reach the mitochondria and exert antioxidant effects. It can be said to be an antioxidant with a "VIP channel". In March 2024, GeroScience magazine published an article entitled "Ergothioneine promotes longevity and healthy aging in male mice". The study found that mice that were supplemented with ergothioneine at 4-5 mg/kg body weight per day had a 16% increase in median survival age and a 21% increase in average survival age.
In addition to extending lifespan, oral ergothioneine can also improve the frailty of elderly mice; the kidney and liver functions of the mice were improved, and their motor and cognitive abilities were better than those of the control group. In addition, the downward trend of SIRT6 protein levels in the experimental group of mice was significantly reversed, which further confirmed that ergothioneine has a significant effect in promoting body health and enhancing immunity.
Ergothioneine is not only more efficient, stable, and safer, but also has a stronger antioxidant capacity. According to data from Huaxi Biotechnology, the DPPH free radical scavenging ability of ergothioneine is 14 times that of glutathione at the same concentration and 30 times that of coenzyme Q10, making it a well-deserved super antioxidant C position. Old-fashioned antioxidant players such as vitamin C, coenzyme Q10, and astaxanthin are no match for it.
02 The anti-aging effect of ergothioneine on the skin
Based on its strong antioxidant properties, high stability, and non-toxicity, ergothioneine has been gradually confirmed by more and more studies to have a positive impact on human health, especially in inhibiting skin aging.
Maintaining collagen in the dermis: Fibroblasts are important cells in connective tissue, which can secrete structural proteins such as collagen that constitute the extracellular matrix, and are closely related to the aging process of the skin. Ergothioneine inhibits UV-induced photoaging by reducing the degradation of matrix metalloproteinase-1 and increasing the production of type I collagen, reducing collagen damage by up to 72.9%.
Whitening and lightening: Tyrosine in the human body can be converted into melanin under the action of tyrosinase, making the skin darker. There are laboratory studies that ergothioneine can inhibit tyrosinase activity and play a role in lightening and whitening. Ergothioneine has coenzyme-like properties, participates in a variety of biochemical activities in the human body, absorbs ultraviolet rays, can prevent and treat skin photoaging, inhibit the saccharification reaction of skin proteins, reduce melanin production, and has a skin-lightening effect. When ergothioneine is used together with other antioxidants, it has a good synergistic whitening effect.
03 Synthetic biology reduces the cost of ergothioneine
Ergothioneine has been widely studied and applied in health products. It has the effects of anti-aging and longevity, oral beauty, improving brain cognition, improving sleep and repairing injuries after exercise.
At first, ergothioneine was mainly extracted from mushrooms and ergot. The content of this natural source is low, and the purification process is time-consuming and costly. The cost of one kilogram of ergothioneine is close to 1 million US dollars.
Later, the American raw material company Barnet used a chemical synthesis route to produce ergothioneine. Affected by the cost, its market price converted into pure powder is about 7,000 yuan/g. It can be seen that even with the improvement of technology, the price of ergothioneine is still very high.
With the rapid development of synthetic biology today, enterprises, universities and research institutes have begun to study how to efficiently prepare ergothioneine through synthetic biology, while improving purity and increasing yield and reducing costs.
In 2017, the European Union, the United States, Japan, Canada and other places successively approved ergothioneine as a dietary supplement and food raw material, thus opening up a new field for humans to use ergothioneine to achieve internal and external anti-aging.
Given the strength of ergothioneine in anti-oxidation, it is expected to become a "hot product" with an annual market demand of 100 tons in the future. According to the statistics of "Health Blue Ocean: Revealing the High-Growth Health Food Track", the sales of the oral beauty market will reach 9.75 billion yuan in 2023, leading all other sub-tracks.
In May 2024, the National Health Commission of China accepted the application for ergothioneine as a new food raw material. With the market drive of more brands entering the market, the raw material market will show explosive growth.