Micronutrients & recovery
Oral administration of pure ergothioneine (5mg or 25mg daily for 7 days) to healthy humans results in avid absorption and retention, but produces no statistically significant reduction in biomarkers of oxidative damage or inflammation.
Taking ergothioneine (5-25mg daily) is safe and your body will store it efficiently, but if you are healthy and not under extreme stress, you should not expect it to lower your oxidative stress or inflammation markers. The body likely stores it for times of actual injury or high stress rather than using it as a daily antioxidant in healthy states.
However, most of the changes were non-significant. ... The decreasing trend of oxidative damage biomarkers is consistent with animal studies suggesting that ET may function as a major antioxidant but perhaps only under conditions of oxidative stress.
Why this rating
It is a placebo-controlled human study with rigorous pharmacokinetic tracking, though the sample size (n=45) and lack of significant effects limit the strength of positive claims.
Source
Administration of Pure Ergothioneine to Healthy Human Subjects: Uptake, Metabolism, and Effects on Biomarkers of Oxidative Damage and Inflammation
Irwin K. Cheah et al. · Antioxidants and Redox Signaling · 2016
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