Amino Acid Found in Mushrooms Has a Key To Many Debilitating Diseases.
Inflammation and cellular oxidation can contribute to many of the diseases associated with aging, such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease. A fundamental and essential Amino Acid Ergothioneine (ERGO) is just one of many amino acids produced primarily by fungi and found in high concentrations in mushrooms.
Based on this new research, ERGO may help battle “many” chronic inflammatory diseases.
Robert Beelman, emeritus professor of food science at Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, compared ERGO and Penicillin, which are both fungi products with beneficial effects on human health. Penicillin still remains on of the most beneficial drugs that has helped hundreds of millions of people worldwide with little to no side effects.
Doctor Beelman stated, “penicillin was an antibiotic famously discovered from a fungal contaminant in a petri dish that started the antibiotic revolution and helped save many lives from infectious diseases. On the other hand, ERGO is a little-known but potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compound produced by fungi in the soil and found naturally in our food that shows promise to help save us from many of the chronic inflammatory diseases that plague us more today.”
According to Doctor Beelman, ERGO is found in high concentrations in human blood but declines with age. Further research has revealed that people with debilitating and chronic diseases have significantly lower blood ERGO levels than age-matched healthy people. This is just another study that proves the benefits from natural molecules within medicinal and functional mushrooms have far reaching benefits to human health.
