White button mushroom ergothioneine aqueous extracts obtained by the application of enzymes and membrane technology

Determination of L-Ergothioneine in Cosmetics Based on Ultraperformance Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry

A new method was developed for the identification and determination of L-ergothioneine in cosmetics based on ultraperformance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). The pretreatment method, chromatographic column, chromatographic conditions, and mass spectrometric conditions of cosmetic samples were optimized. Methanol was chosen as the extraction solvent, 85% acetonitrile with 0.1% FA was selected as the mobile phase, and the Waters CORTECS UPLC hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) column was chosen for the separation. The sample was extracted with methanol and filtered, then separated by HILIC and detected by triple-quadrupole mass spectrometry. The quantitation was done under the matrix calibration curve using the external standard method. The results showed good linear relationships in the range of 5–200 ng/mL, and the correlation coefficient was greater than 0.999 in cosmetic samples. The limit of detection was in the range of 25–50 μg/kg and the limit of quantitation was in the range of 50–100 μg/kg. The recoveries of the method spiked ranged from 85.3% to 96.2% and the relative standard deviation (RSD) was in the range of 0.84%–2.08% (n = 6). The method is simple, quick, and accurate for the determination of L-ergothioneine in cosmetics, and has great practical value.

Ergothioneine: a potential antioxidative and anti-melanosis agent for food quality preservation

The global population increase has increased the demand for food products. However, post-harvest deterioration due to oxidation and discoloration results in a drastic loss of food quality and supply. Thus, research has focused on developing strategies to minimize such losses. One of those strategies includes the application of ergothioneine (ET), a potent hydrophilic antioxidant, to several food products so as to overcome their short shelf-life. ET can be synthetic or derived from several species of edible mushrooms and their extracts, which are known sources of natural ET. Given the reported potential of ET in food quality preservation, this review compiles the recent applications of ET as a preservative for maintaining the quality of food commodities.

Recent Strategies for the Biosynthesis of Ergothioneine

Ergothioneine (EGT) is a unique naturally occurring amino acid that is usually biosynthesized by bacteria and fungi. As a food-derived antioxidant and cytoprotectant, it has several physiological benefits and has a wide range of applications in food, medicine, and cosmetics. Traditional production of EGT is mainly through biological extraction or chemical synthesis; however, these methods are inefficient, making large-scale production to meet the growing market demand difficult. Nowadays, the rapid development of synthetic biology has greatly accelerated the research on the EGT production by microbial fermentation. In this paper, the biological characteristics, applications, biosynthesis, separation, and detection methods of EGT were fully reviewed. Furthermore, the approaches and challenges for engineering microbial cells to efficiently synthesize EGT were also discussed. This work provides new ideas and future research potentials in EGT production.

The current status of biotechnological production and the application of a novel antioxidant ergothioneine

Ergothioneine is a sulfur-containing histidine derivative, that possessesexcellent antioxidant activity and has been used in the food and cosmetics industries. It plays a significant role in anti-aging and the prevention of various diseases. This review will briefly introduce the functions and applications of ergothioneine, elaborate the biosynthetic pathways of ergothioneine and describe several strategies to increase the production of ergothioneine. Then the efficient extraction and detection methods of ergothioneine will be presented. Finally, several proposals are put forward to increase the yield of ergothioneine, and the development prospects of ergothioneine will be discussed.

The biology of ergothioneine, an antioxidant nutraceutical

Ergothioneine (ERG) is an unusual thio-histidine betaine amino acid that has potent antioxidant activities. It is synthesised by a variety of microbes, especially fungi (including in mushroom fruiting bodies) and actinobacteria, but is not synthesised by plants and animals who acquire it via the soil and their diet, respectively. Animals have evolved a highly selective transporter for it, known as solute carrier family 22, member 4 (SLC22A4) in humans, signifying its importance, and ERG may even have the status of a vitamin. ERG accumulates differentially in various tissues, according to their expression of SLC22A4, favouring those such as erythrocytes that may be subject to oxidative stress. Mushroom or ERG consumption seems to provide significant prevention against oxidative stress in a large variety of systems. ERG seems to have strong cytoprotective status, and its concentration is lowered in a number of chronic inflammatory diseases. It has been passed as safe by regulatory agencies, and may have value as a nutraceutical and antioxidant more generally.