Blue California files patent for ergothioneine as support for oxidative stress related conditions

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Blue California (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA) has filed a patent for the therapeutic uses of ergothioneine. This follows the firm’s February 2020 patent application reporting the discovery that ergothioneine inhibits the shortening of telomeres associated with oxidative stress. The most recent patent claims ergothioneine mitigates oxidative stress triggering the inflammatory response in chronic conditions associated with heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

“Blue California has been at the forefront of research and development regarding ergothioneine using our branded ingredient ErgoActive,” stated Priscilla Samuel, PhD, chief science officer at Blue California, in a press release. “We have found through our research that ergothioneine has tremendous potential to combat oxidative stress and health conditions associated with it.”

Ergothioneine is a naturally-occurring amino acid that comes from a number of dietary sources such as mushrooms. Researchers speculate that ergothioneine is important to human health because we produce a highly specific transport protein called OCTN1 for the amino acid. For its branded ingredient ErgoActive, Blue California received no objection for its GRAS notification from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Blue California is the exclusive manufacturer and distributor of ErgoActive for Conagen (Bedford, MA), a biotechnology company with a large portfolio of products for the food, nutrition, and pharma markets.

More research is on the way. “Blue California recently invested in both in vitro and in vivo research of ErgoActive,” said Samuel. “We will be studying how ergothioneine supplementation can support various health benefits, including immune health. We also look forward to clinical studies that further test and demonstrate these novel benefits included in our patent application, and in the emerging scientific literature.”