Compound or practice · Supplement
Ergothioneine
A mushroom-derived antioxidant your body has a dedicated transporter for — a 'longevity vitamin' candidate with association, not proof.
- Overall grade
- Grade C
- Last revised
- 1
- graded outcome
- 0
- references listed
A structured monograph in Prometheus's bundled library. Its grades are the monograph's own reading of the evidence, not a peer-reviewed review.
1 at grade C — 1 graded row
What is known
Each outcome with its grade (how strong the evidence is, A to D), the size of the effect where the entry records one, and how often studies agree.
- Mortality associationEvidence grade C
Observational
Unclearmixed
What is uncertain
Read off the same rows as above. Nothing here is added that the entry does not itself record.
- Thin evidence: Mortality association (grade C).
The evidence in words
What it is
Ergothioneine is a unique amino-acid antioxidant concentrated in mushrooms; humans have a specific transporter (OCTN1) that retains it in tissues.
How it works
It accumulates in cells under oxidative stress and scavenges reactive species; the dedicated transporter implies a physiological role.
What the evidence shows
Higher blood ergothioneine associates with lower cardiovascular and all-cause mortality in cohort studies, and it's been proposed as a 'longevity vitamin.' But these are associations — intervention trials showing it improves outcomes don't yet exist.
Safety & interactions
Appears very safe; naturally consumed in mushrooms.
Bottom line
A biologically special antioxidant with intriguing longevity associations, awaiting outcome trials. Eating mushrooms is the easy, evidence-adjacent way to get it.
Related reading
Entries that share this one's tags or conditions.
- ChagaAn antioxidant-rich fungus with essentially no human trials — and a real oxalate/kidney caution.Evidence grade D
- Ergothioneine for Mortality associationEvidence grade C — ObservationalEvidence grade C
- Ergothioneine: side effects, safety & interactionsAppears very safe; naturally consumed in mushrooms.Evidence grade C
- AstaxanthinA potent carotenoid antioxidant with modest skin-photoprotection and exercise-recovery signals.Evidence grade C
Sources
This entry lists no references of its own.
Last revised . A grade is this entry's reading of the evidence, not medical advice.