Studies using radioactive sulphur on ergothioneine formation in the pig

Abstract

Until recently, blood erythrocytes were the only known source of ergothioneine in the animal body, and so far all studies on the formation of ergothioneine have been confined to blood. In experiments on the pig, rabbit and rat it has been found that certain diets, although themselves devoid of ergothioneine, can influence the level of ergo- thioneine in the blood (Eagles & Vars, 1928; Potter & Franke, 1935; Hunter, 1951; Spicer, Wooley & Kessler, 1951). Ergothioneine added to the diet was found to be incorporated into the blood of rats and rabbits (Spicer et al. 1951; Heath, Rimington, Searle & Lawson, 1952) and synthetic [35S]ergothioneine fed to rats was shown by Heath (1953) to find its way into the blood and tissues. Leone & Mann (1951) and Mann & Leone (1953) recently brought to light a second source of ergo- thioneine in the animal body, when they discovered that ergothioneine is a normal constituent of boar semen, and is secreted by the seminal vesicles. Un- like blood, the vesicular secretion was shown to contain ergothioneine as an extracellular con- stituent and in a remarkably high concentration.