In 1832, H.A.L. Wiggers discovered trehalose in an ergot of rye,  and in 1859 Marcellin Berthelot isolated it from Trehala manna, a substance made by weevils and named it trehalose.
Trehalose has long been known as an autophagy inducer that acts independently of mTOR. In 2017, research was published showing that trehalose induces autophagy by activating TFEB, a protein that acts as a master regulator of the autophagy-lysosome pathway.