Ergothioneine: A Natural Antioxidant Claimed to Prevent Neurodegeneration

Ergothioneine (ET) is an exogenous thiol antioxidant present mainly in mushrooms and, in smaller amounts, in various other food products as well. Numerous beneficial health effects of ET have been reported, suggesting that ET is a vitamin-like compound. Evidence that ET prevents and inhibits the development of neurodegenerative diseases, especially Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, has been accumulated based on studies of cellular and animal models, as well as epidemiologic and interventional studies in humans. The mechanism of the neuroprotective action of ET remains to be elucidated. Apart from the direct antioxidant effect, ET was found to stimulate an endogenous antioxidant defense through the activation of Nrf2 signaling while also affecting other signaling pathways. The accumulating literature data suggest that an ET-rich diet could be recommended for the prevention of neurodegeneration in the general population, but such a recommendation, though noteworthy, is not yet adequately supported by the limited human intervention data, and further studies are needed.