Mushrooms are rich in bioactive compounds including polysaccharides, lectins, and L-ergothioneine (EGT), which contribute to their therapeutic potential, particularly in cancer prevention and treatment. Ergothioneine (EGT), a potent antioxidant amino acid found in high concentrations in mushrooms, plays a unique role in protecting cells from oxidative stress, especially when primary antioxidants like glutathione are depleted. It has shown promise in reducing the risk of cancers such as prostate, colorectal, and ovarian, and in mitigating the adverse effects of chemotherapeutic agents like cisplatin. EGT a influences key cellular signalling pathways, particularly those involving sirtuins (SIRT1–SIRT7), which are integral to redox regulation and epigenetic control in cancer biology. Studies highlight EGT’s ability to induce necroptosis in colorectal cancer cells via the SIRT3–MLKL pathway, suggesting a mechanistic link between its antioxidant function and cell death induction. EGT’s dual role in redox balance and sirtuin modulation positions it as a potential candidate for future cancer therapies

Sirtuin, Ergothioneine, Anticancer activity, Colectoral cancer, Ovarian cancer, Mushrooms, Redox signalling

This review focused on the bioactivity of mushroom derived ergothioneine on different cancers. Ergothioneine being a diet derived amino acid with significant reported antioxidant activities on several aspects with major activities being reported with respect to neuroprotection and antiinflammation. Thus, the need to review its bioactivity with respect to different cancers where oxidative stress plays a major role is the need of the hour. On an intensive literature survey, it came to the conclusion that mushroom derived ergothioneine could inhibit the progression of colorectal cancer possibly by specific inhibition of MLKL pathway

Parvathy K.O. and Jini Joseph (2025). Review on Anticancer Activity of Mushroom Derived Ergothioneine. Biological Forum, 17(5): 90-94