Studies on ergothioneine. VII. Some effects of ergothioneine on glycolytic metabolism in red blood cells from rats.

The lactate level in red blood cells from rats administered ergothioneine by i.p. injection for 7 d (1.6 mg/kg/d) then starved for 24 h was maintained at the normal level, whereas that of the control group (no ergothioneine) decreased to 60%. No effect of ergothioneine administration was observed on the lactate level in red blood cells when rats were fed ad libitum. Addition of 10-3 M ergothioneine to either a suspension or a hemolysate of red blood cells from intact rats accelerated lactate formation. Moreover, the amounts of glucose-6-phosphate (G-6-P) and fructose-6-phosphate (F-6-P) in red blood cells decreased to 74% and 51% of the control level respectively. The amount of pyruvate in red blood cells did not change. It is suggested that ergothioneine had the effect of accelerating the glycolytic metabolism in red blood cells, or effected an increase in the permeability of red blood cells to glucose.