Safe and Effective Antioxidant: The Biological Mechanism and Potential Pathways of Ergothioneine in the Skin

Overview

Journal Molecules

Publisher MDPI

Specialty Biology

Date 2023 Feb 25

PMID 36838636

Authors

Hui-Min Liu

Wei Tang

Xiao-Yi Wang

Jing-Jing Jiang

Wei Zhang

Wei Wang

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Ergothioneine, a sulfur-containing micromolecular histidine derivative, has attracted increasing attention from scholars since it was confirmed in the human body. In the human body, ergothioneine is transported and accumulated specifically through OCTN-1, especially in the mitochondria and nucleus, suggesting that it can target damaged cells and tissues as an antioxidant. It shows excellent antioxidant, anti-inflammatory effects, and anti-aging properties, and inhibits melanin production. It is a mega antioxidant that may participate in the antioxidant network system and promote the reducing glutathione regeneration cycle. This review summarizes studies on the antioxidant effects of ergothioneine on various free radicals in vitro to date and systematically introduces its biological activities and potential mechanisms, mostly in dermatology. Additionally, the application of ergothioneine in cosmetics is briefly summarized. Lastly, we propose some problems that require solutions to understand the mechanism of action of ergothioneine. We believe that ergothioneine has good prospects in the food and cosmetics industries, and can thus meet some needs of the health and beauty industry.

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