Although many species contain ergothioneine, only a few make it; the others absorb it from their diet or, in the case of plants, from their environment.[13] Biosynthesis has been detected in Actinomycetota, such as Mycobacterium smegmatis and certain fungi, such as Neurospora crassa.[3]
Ergothioneine is a thiourea derivative of the betaine of histidine and contains a sulfur atom bonded to the 2-position of the imidazole ring.[20] Typical of thioureas, ergothioneine is less reactive than typical thiols such as glutathione towards alkylating agents like maleimides. It also resists oxidation by air.[10] However, ergothioneine can be slowly oxidized over several days to the disulfide form in acidic solutions.[21]
Ergothioneine derivatives
Various derivatives of ergothioneine have been reported in the literature, such as S-methyl-ergothioneine[22] or selenium-containing selenoneine.[23]
Preliminary research
Although ergothioneine is under preliminary research, its physiological role in vivo has not been determined.[2][8]
Safe intake levels
The Panel on Dietetic Products for the European Food Safety Authority reported safe daily limits of 2.82mg/kg of body weight for infants, 3.39mg/kg for small children, and 1.31mg/kg for adults, including pregnant and breastfeeding women.[9]
1 2 "Ergothioneine". PubChem, National Center for Biotechnology Information, US National Library of Medicine. 2 November 2019. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
↑ Pfeiffer C, Bauer T, Surek B, Schömig E, Gründemann D (2011). "Cyanobacteria produce high levels of ergothioneine". Food Chemistry. 129 (4): 1766–1769. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2011.06.047.
↑ Markova NG, Karaman-Jurukovska N, Dong KK, Damaghi N, Smiles KA, Yarosh DB (April 2009). "Skin cells and tissue are capable of using L-ergothioneine as an integral component of their antioxidant defense system". Free Radical Biology & Medicine. 46 (8): 1168–76. doi:10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2009.01.021. PMID19439218.
↑ Bello MH, Barrera-Perez V, Morin D, Epstein L (February 2012). "The Neurospora crassa mutant NcΔEgt-1 identifies an ergothioneine biosynthetic gene and demonstrates that ergothioneine enhances conidial survival and protects against peroxide toxicity during conidial germination". Fungal Genetics and Biology. 49 (2): 160–72. doi:10.1016/j.fgb.2011.12.007. PMID22209968.
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