Regularly eating golden oyster mushrooms protected heart health and promoted longevity in mice.
Golden oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus citrinopileatus) 鈥� fungi native to parts of Russia, China and Japan 鈥� are one of the richest natural sources of an antioxidant called ergothioneine. Studies in humans have shown the compound is associated with a lower risk of and premature death. These findings rely on observational data, however, so it isn鈥檛 clear whether ergothioneine is driving the health benefits.
To find out, at Kumamoto University in Japan and his colleagues fed powdered golden oyster mushrooms to 10 middle-aged mice and monitored their heart health. The mice ate about 9 grams of powdered mushrooms per kilogram of body weight daily.
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After a year, the mice had significantly better heart function than those that weren鈥檛 fed the mushrooms. For instance, their hearts pumped about 20 per cent more blood, on average, to the body with each contraction. The mice could also run faster and further, and they had lower levels of genetic markers associated with heart failure.
These metrics usually worsen with age, suggesting that golden oyster mushrooms may protect against age-related declines in cardiovascular health. Further analysis showed the fungus probably does so by shielding cells in the heart and blood vessels from damaging inflammatory molecules known as reactive oxygen species.
This would make sense given that ergothioneine is known to have powerful anti-inflammatory effects, says at Pennsylvania State University, who wasn鈥檛 involved in the study.
Yet, findings in mouse studies don鈥檛 always pan out in humans, he notes. The serving size was also enormous, equivalent to an 80-kilogram person eating 720 grams of dried mushrooms a day. Still, this adds to the 鈥渕ounting evidence that [ergothioneine] is, as we call it, a longevity vitamin鈥�, says Beelman.
But people may not be getting enough of this antioxidant. Ergothioneine is produced by soil fungi, which pass it along to many crops via their roots. Modern agricultural practices, such as heavily tilling soil, disrupt this process 鈥� which can reduce ergothioneine levels in plants by as much as .
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