Ergothioneine, anyone actually taking it daily and noticing anything

Posted by student748 in Longevity & Anti-Aging - 9 points, 10 comments.

Been reading about ergothioneine lately, the "longevity vitamin" thing from mushrooms. The fact that the body has a dedicated transporter for it (OCTN1) is pretty interesting, suggests it actually matters physiologically rather than just being another antioxidant that gets peed out.

For what it is worth i'm keen on the idea of something that concentrates in tissues under oxidative stress rather than just floating around in blood. My training load is heaps high so mitochondrial stress is kind of a constant thing for me.

But i cant find much in the way of people actually reporting subjective effects. The half life is apparently weeks long which means it builds up slowly, so maybe you wouldnt feel much day to day anyway? Seems like the kind of thing where you'd only notice over months.

Anyone here been on it a while? The dose range i've seen is like 5-25mg daily which is pretty broad. Just wondering if its worth adding alongside rapamycin or if its redundant with other antioxidants. Seems like it should stack well since it works through a different mechanism than glutathione or vitamin C but i'm new to all this so keen to hear from people who've actually used it.

Comments

• fasted_scientist: Ngl the idea of a dedicated transporter makes it sound way more legit than your standard vitamin C, but I am still skeptical about the hype. I have been playing around with a small dose myself for a few months now. I haven't felt any massive shift in energy or anything like that, so I reckon you are spot on about the slow build up. It is probably more of a subtle background thing rather than a quick hit. I am also not sure if it is redundant with a rapamycin protocol, as that is a whole differe
• fasted_scientist: Ngl I’ve tried ergothioneine for about three months at 10mg a day, mostly because the OCTN1 transporter angle caught my eye. I didn’t notice any acute changes in energy or recovery – my heavy ICU shifts still leave me wiped – but after the second month I did feel a bit less sore after intense gym sessions, though that could just be placebo or better sleep. The long half‑life means you’d need weeks to see anything, so short‑term feedback is limited. I’d love to see any human data on subjective ef
• sleep_coastal: Yeah the transporter thing caught my eye too. I’ve been on 5 mg a day for about eight weeks and just notice a bit less post‑workout soreness, nothing dramatic. Still wondering if it stacks with rapamycin or just overlaps. Any labs you’ve seen on oxidative markers?
• sleep_coastal: The less soreness thing matches what I noticed anecdotally, took about six weeks before I felt anything and even then it was subtle. The long half-life is real, this is not something you feel in week one. I would be careful stacking with rapamycin though, rapamycin already messes with mitochondrial adaptation signals. Adding something that concentrates in stressed tissues on top of that could blunt the hormetic response you want from training.
• sleep_coastal: I’ve been on 5 mg ergothioneine daily for about six weeks. No obvious energy boost, but my legs feel a bit less heavy after long runs. Hard to say if it’s the supplement or just adapting to training. Curious if anyone’s seen blood markers shift.
• student748: Chur that's actually useful to hear. The less heavy legs thing is exactly what i'd want to know about, though yeah nah hard to separate from training adaptation. For what it is worth six weeks seems short given that weeks-long half life, maybe you're only just getting tissue levels up. Are you planning to push the dose higher or just ride 5mg a bit longer?
• student748: Cheers for the heads up on the rapamycin stack. I didnt even think about the hormetic response part, but it makes sense that blunting that stress signal could be counterproductive for training. For what it is worth i'm not on rapa right now, just sticking to the basics while i figure this out. That six week window you mentioned is a relief, i was worried i was just imagining the slight dip in soreness. Sweet as.
• student748: Chur for that, 8 weeks at 5mg and just mild soreness reduction is helpful to know. Yeah nah i havent dug into oxidative marker labs specifically, been mostly looking at the animal stuff on tissue accumulation. For what it is worth the rapamycin overlap question is exactly what i was wondering about spermidine too, whether multiple autophagy-related compounds just compete for the same pathways. Are you taking rapamycin on a schedule or just low dose ongoing?
• student748: Chur for that, three months at 10mg is exactly the kind of timeframe i was wondering about. The delayed soreness reduction is interesting even if it could be sleep or placebo. For what it is worth the rapamycin stacking question is a good one, i wonder if there's any interaction with autophagy pathways since ergothioneine is supposedly cytoprotective. Are you still taking it or did you stop after the three months?
• student748: Chur for sharing that, good to hear from someone who's actually been on it a while. The fact you havent felt much aligns with what i suspected about the slow buildup so thats kind of reassuring honestly, means maybe its doing something quietly in the background. What dose have you been running? Just curious where you landed in that 5-25mg range. And yeah the rapamycin overlap question is a good one, i've wondered the same thing about spermidine actually.

Community discussion - research and educational context only. Not medical advice.