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Data: Limited

Ergothioneine

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

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Other Concerns

Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs) (low)

SYNONYMS

● (S)-ALPHA-CARBOXY-2,3-DIHYDRO-N,N,N-TRIMETHYL-2-THIOXO-1H-IMIDAZOLE-4-ETHANAMINIUM, HYDROXIDE, INNER SALT
● (S)-[1-CARBOXY-2-(2-MERCAPTOIMIDAZOL-4-Y L)ETHYL]TRIMETHYLAMMONIUM HYDROXIDE
● (S)-[1-CARBOXY-2-(2-MERCAPTOIMIDAZOL-4-YL)ETHYL]TRIMETHYLAMMONIUM HYDROXIDE
● 2-MERCAPTO-N,N-DIMETHYL- BETAINE HISTIDINE
● 2-MERCAPTOHISTIDINE TRIMETHYLBETAINE
● AMMONIUM, [1-CARBOXY-2-(2-MERCAPTOIMIDAZOL-4-YL)ETHYL]TRIMETHYL-, HYDROXIDE, INNER SALT, L-(+)-
● BETAINE HISTIDINE, 2-MERCAPTO-N,N-DIMETHYL-
● ERGOTHIONEINE
● ERGOTHIONINE
● HISTIDINE, 2-MERCAPTO-N,N-DIMETHYL-, BETAINE
● INNER SALT L-(+)- AMMONIUM, [1-CARBOXY-2-(2-MERCAPTOIMIDAZOL-4-YL)ETHYL]TRIMETHYL-, HYDROXIDE
● L-(+)- AMMONIUM, [1-CARBOXY-2-(2-MERCAPTOIMIDAZOL-4-YL)ETHYL]TRIMETHYL-, HYDROXIDE, INNER SALT

This ingredient is not currently on EWG's Skin Deep Restricted or Unacceptable Lists.


Ergothioneine is a heterocyclic compound.

Common concerns

See how this product scores for common concerns.

  • LOW
    Cancer
  • LOW
    Allergies & Immunotoxicity
  • LOW
    Developmental and Reproductive Toxicity
  • LOW
    Use Restrictions

Ingredient concerns

  • CONCERNS
  • DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

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facial moisturizer/treatment18 products
serums & essences18 products
daily use with SPF11 products
around-eye cream5 products
anti-aging5 products
moisturizer3 products
exfoliant/scrub2 products
recreational sunscreen2 products
hair treatment/serum2 products
hair spray1 products
facial cleanser1 products
mask1 products

Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Limited evidence of eye irritationOpen scientific literature

Data gaps

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CONCERN REFERENCE
370 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemicalNLM PubMed
  • Open scientific/peer reviewed literature
  • NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2012. PubMed online scientific bibliography data. http://www.pubmed.gov.

Understanding scores

Cosmetics and personal care products are not required to be tested for safety before being allowed on the market. The Skin Deep® scoring system was designed to help the public understand whether a product is safe to use or whether it contains ingredients of concern.

Every product and ingredient in Skin Deep gets a two-part score – one for hazard and one for data availability. The safest products score well by both measures, with a low hazard rating and a fair or better data availability rating.

HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES

Hazard score

The Skin Deep ingredient hazard score, from 1 to 10, reflects known and suspected hazards linked to the ingredients. The EWG VERIFIED® mark means a product meets EWG’s strictest criteria for transparency and health.

Score legend

Data availability

The Skin Deep data availability rating reflects the number of scientific studies about the product or ingredient in the published scientific literature.

NONE LIMITED FAIR GOOD ROBUST
Low Availability
Moderate Availability
High Availability

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