THE BIOAVAILABILITY OF ERGOTHIONEINE FROM MUSHROOMS AND THE ACUTE EFFECTS ON ANTIOXIDANT CAPACITY AND BIOMARKERS OF INFLAMMATION IN HUMAN PARTICIPANTS
Open Access
- Author:
- Weigand, AuBrei Jayne
- Graduate Program:
- Food Science
- Degree:
- Master of Science
- Document Type:
- Master Thesis
- Date of Defense:
- None
- Committee Members:
- Robert Bruce Beelman, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
Robert Bruce Beelman, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor - Keywords:
- Bioavalilability
Mushrooms
Ergothioneine - Abstract:
- The growing demand of functional foods in the market is leading research on bioactive components found in food. Recently mushrooms have been discovered to contain ergothioneine, a known antioxidant. Ergothioneine was discovered in 1909 and although it has been widely studied, its bioavailability from mushrooms in humans is still unknown. The overall goal of this research was to assess the bioavailability of ergothioneine from mushrooms and evaluate its bioactive effect as part of a small pilot study. An HPLC method for the separation and quantification of ergothioneine from red blood cells and plasma was developed. Healthy men (n=10) ages 23-50 years were recruited to assess the bioavailability of ergothioneine through a dose-response time-course study. A randomized crossover design was employed in which each subject consumed a test meal containing 0g, 8g, and 16g of brown button mushroom powder. At baseline (t=0) and at the subsequent time points (0.5, 1, 2, 4, 6 hours) ergothioneine concentrations were measured. In addition, plasma Cu, plasma Se, glucose, triglycerides, HDL, LDL, total cholesterol, ORACtotal and C-reactive protein were also monitored. No statistically significant differences were observed among the various end points (p<0.05). An ergothioneine response was observed in 90% of the subjects. Of those that responded 67% had an ergothioneine response after the 8 g dose and 100% had a response after the 16 g dose. The postprandial triglyceride response was blunted after the mushroom treatments when compared to the control meal of 0 g. A negative correlation (R2=0.9957) was found for the peak ergothioneine concentration and the percent increase in postprandial triglycerides. ORACtotal values decreased with the 8 g and 16 g doses compared to the control meal.