ArticleBrain and behavior2016
Food-derived hydrophilic antioxidant ergothioneine is distributed to the brain and exerts antidepressant effect in mice.
Article in Brain and behavior, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 42 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
42 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 97 citations in OpenAlex.
- Exploring the causal association between serum metabolites and erectile dysfunction: a bidirectional Mendelian randomisation study.International journal of impotence research · 2025Pooled it
- Antioxidants in Oxidative Stress and Obesity-Associated Diseases: Molecular Mechanisms and Potential Health Implications.Biomedicines · 2026Review
- Ergothioneine: Biosynthesis, Molecular Mechanisms, Physiological Function, and Role in Disease.MedComm · 2026Review
- A Multi-Target Approach to Colitis: Ergothioneine Promotes Recovery by Restoring the Intestinal Barrier, Reducing Inflammation, and Remodeling the Microbiota.Food science & nutrition · 2026Article
- Ergothioneine promotes osteogenesis and angiogenesis through PI3K/AKT pathway and prevents glucocorticoid-induced osteonecrosis of the femoral head.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Ergothioneine, collagen peptides, and sodium hyaluronate ameliorate facial skin aging via modulating oxidative stress, inflammation, and extracellular matrix homeostasis.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Article
- Golden Oyster Mushroom Extract Ameliorates Oxidative Stress-Induced Cell Death in Neurons and Scopolamine-Induced Cholinergic System Impairment in Mice.Molecular neurobiology · 2025Article
- Enhanced production of ergothioneine in Aspergillus oryzae.Applied microbiology and biotechnology · 2025Article
- Effects of ergothioneine on oxidative DNA damage and immune response induced by circadian rhythm disturbance in mice.Journal of clinical biochemistry and nutrition · 2025Article
- The Association Between Serum Ergothioneine Concentration and Japanese Dietary Habits: The Third Survey of the ROAD Study.Nutrients · 2025Article
- Neuronal differentiation of human dental pulp stem cells induced by co-treatment of ergothioneine.PloS one · 2025Article
- Ergothioneine promotes longevity and healthy aging in male mice.GeroScience · 2024Article
- Effects of Consuming White Button and Oyster Mushrooms within a Healthy Mediterranean-Style Dietary Pattern on Changes in Subjective Indexes of Brain Health or Cognitive Function in Healthy Middle-Aged and Older Adults.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Exercise mitigates a gut microbiota-mediated reduction in adult hippocampal neurogenesis and associated behaviours in rats.Translational psychiatry · 2024Article
- A scoping review of the effects of mushroom and fungus extracts in rodent models of depression and tests of antidepressant activity.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2024Article
- Article
- Reactive oxygen species, toxicity, oxidative stress, and antioxidants: chronic diseases and aging.Archives of toxicology · 2023Review
- Preventive Roles of Rice-Nutrients · 2023Article
- Article
- Ergothioneine and central nervous system diseases.Neurochemical research · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundClinically used antidepressants suffer from various side effects. Therefore, we searched for a safe antidepressant with minimal side effects among food ingredients that are distributed to the brain. Here, we focused on ERGO (ergothioneine), which is a hydrophilic antioxidant and contained at high levels in edible golden oyster mushrooms. ERGO is a typical substrate of carnitine/organic cation transporter OCTN1/SLC22A4, which is expressed in the brain and neuronal stem cells, although little is known about its permeation through the BBB (blood-brain barrier) or its neurological activity.
methodsTo clarify the exposure of ERGO to brain and the possible antidepressant-like effect after oral ingestion, ERGO or GOME (golden oyster mushroom extract) which contains 1.2% (w/w) ERGO was mixed with feed and provided to mice for 2 weeks, and then ERGO concentration and antidepressant-like effect were evaluated by LC-MS/MS and FST (forced swimming test) or TST (tail suspension test), respectively.
resultsDiet containing ERGO or GOME greatly increased the ERGO concentrations in plasma and brain, and significantly decreased the immobility time in both FST and TST. The required amount of GOME (~37 mg/day) to show the antidepressant-like effect corresponds to at most 8 g/day in humans. In mice receiving GOME-containing diet, doublecortin-positive cells showed a significant increase from the basal level, suggesting promotion of neuronal differentiation.
conclusionThus, orally ingested ERGO is transported across the BBB into the brain, where it may promote neuronal differentiation and alleviate symptoms of depression at plausibly achieved level of daily ingestion.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.