Ergothioneine; antioxidant potential, physiological function and role in disease
Open accessAbstract
Since its discovery, the unique properties of the naturally occurring amino acid, L-ergothioneine (EGT; 2-mercaptohistidine trimethylbetaine), have intrigued researchers for more than a century. This widely distributed thione is only known to be synthesized by non-yeast fungi, mycobacteria and cyanobacteria but accumulates in higher organisms at up to millimolar levels via an organic cation transporter (OCTN1). The physiological role of EGT has yet to be established. Numerous in vitro assays have demonstrated the antioxidant and cytoprotective capabilities of EGT against a wide range of cellular stressors, but an antioxidant role has yet to be fully verified in vivo. Nevertheless the accumulation, tissue distribution and scavenging properties, all highlight the potential for EGT to function as a physiological antioxidant. This article reviews our current state of knowledge. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Antioxidants and Antioxidant Treatment in Disease.
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ERG has an unusually high midpoint potential for a thiol, being +0·06 V.
“Its midpoint potential for a thiol is consequently unusually high, being +0·06 V v. −0·2 to −0·4 V for typical thiols including glutathione(4,39–41) and mycothiol(42,43), and −0·193 V for the also somewhat oxidising thiol cofactor coenzyme M, which is 2-mercaptoethanesulfonate(44).”
From The biology of ergothioneine, an antioxidant nutraceutical (2020) · cites this paper as [4]
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- Authors
- Cheah, I. K., & Halliwell, B.
- Affiliations
- National University of Singapore (SG)
- Corresponding author
- Halliwell, Barry
- Venue
- Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Molecular Basis of Disease
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2012-05
- Volume
- 1822
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 784-793
- ISSN
- 0925-4439 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1993849862
- Cited by
- 514
- References
- 10
- Citations by year
- 2026: 63 · 2025: 63 · 2024: 54 · 2023: 43 · 2022: 32 · 2021: 40 · 2020: 34 · 2019: 28 · 2018: 31 · 2017: 33 · 2016: 22 · 2015: 28 · 2014: 25 · 2013: 10 · 2012: 7
- FWCI
- 1.40
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Molecular Basis of Disease (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Medical Research Council
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Biochemistry › Sulfur Compounds in Biology
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Redox biology and oxidative stress
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Biochemistry › Antioxidant Activity and Oxidative Stress
- Keywords
- L-ergothioneine, antioxidant activity, cytoprotection, mycobacteria, cyanobacteria, tissue distribution, cellular stress, disease
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Antioxidants, Ergothioneine, Humans
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