“On September 12, 2023, China’s first collective standard for ‘Ergothioneine as Cosmetic Ingredient’ officially came into effect, filling a gap in the use of ergothioneine in the cosmetics industry. GeneIII, as one of the drafting units of this collective standard, was deeply involved in the formulation of the ergothioneine standard, playing a significant role in promoting the use of ergothioneine in the domestic market.
As the world’s leading producer of ergothioneine, GeneIII has consistently taken on the responsibility of industry leadership. Currently, GeneIII has pioneered the achievement of c-GMP engineering-scale production of ergothioneine, with a raw material purity of up to 99.97%. GeneIII plays a crucial role in quality, production capacity, and cost aspects related to ergothioneine, continuously driving forward the development of ergothioneine applications in the market.
In recent years, the market awareness of ergothioneine has been steadily increasing. According to the ‘2023 Global Super Ingredient Trends White Paper’ released by Tmall International, the market size of ergothioneine has seen a year-on-year growth rate of 203%, making it a ‘rising star’ among functional skincare ingredients. Publicly available information indicates that ergothioneine has a history of over a century. As early as 1909, the French pharmacist Charles Tanret first isolated ergothioneine from ergot fungi, and it was subsequently found in mushrooms such as reishi and matsutake. Research has shown that ergothioneine can enter cell mitochondria and provide antioxidant effects over six times* more potent than astaxanthin, making it an ideal anti-aging ingredient. In addition to this, ergothioneine also plays a role in skin whitening, radiation protection, anti-inflammatory properties, and other areas. In 2014, ergothioneine was officially included in the ‘List of Cosmetic Raw Materials in Use.’
The ergothioneine collective standard that GeneIII has participated in developing, overseen by the China Food and Drug Enterprises Quality and Safety Promotion Association, has undergone several months of data collection, market research, and collaborative research. The first domestic collective standard for ‘Ergothioneine as Cosmetic Ingredient’
has finally been officially released, marking a new era for ergothioneine applications in the domestic cosmetics industry.”
This collective standard, for the first time, sets forth industry standards for technical requirements, testing methods, inspection rules, labeling, packaging, storage, and shelf life for ergothioneine as a cosmetic ingredient. It is applicable to ergothioneine prepared using processes such as microbial fermentation or biocatalysis, as well as isolation, refinement, and crystallization techniques. The standard emphasizes that when ergothioneine is used in cosmetics, its purity should meet or exceed 99%, in compliance with the National Medical Products Administration’s ‘Cosmetic Safety Technical Specifications.’
GeneIII, as one of the earliest companies in China to have patented technologies in the field of ergothioneine development based on synthetic biology, not only possesses robust gene editing techniques but has also made breakthroughs in the engineering-scale production of ergothioneine.”
Relying on a c-GMP standard pharmaceutical production platform, GeneIII’s ergothioneine raw material achieves a purity of 99.97% and possesses the capability for fermentation in 20-ton tanks as well as purification processes. Additionally, by adjusting the pH value of the formulation system, ergothioneine remains stable and odorless even after ample addition. Currently, GeneIII has established a ‘closed-loop’ system covering multiple stages, from upstream strain construction, biological fermentation, isolation and purification, engineering-scale production, product efficacy evaluation, to market promotion.
In the development of the first ergothioneine collective standard, GeneIII deeply participated, aligning with the spirit of the ‘National Standardization Development Outline,’ and actively addressing the needs of high-quality industrial development. GeneIII has played a leading, supporting, and systemic role in the innovative development of the ergothioneine industry. In the future, GeneIII will further leverage synthetic biology technology to expand the applications of ergothioneine in the fields of cosmetics, skincare, oral health, and medical well-being.
Looking at the entire market, the prospects for ergothioneine are very promising. With the formal introduction of the ‘Ergothioneine as
Cosmetic Ingredient’ collective standard, ergothioneine, as a ‘new generation’ functional ingredient in the cosmetics field, will experience more standardized development in cosmetic applications. Scientific and standardized raw material quality, coupled with effective quality control testing technology, will further promote the healthy growth of the cosmetics market!
*Research findings are from independent third-party specialized laboratories.