How Glutathione works
An antioxidant with mixed oral evidence and important risks from compounded injections.
Also called: GSH, Reduced L-glutathione, L-glutathione, GSSG, oxidized glutathione.
Antioxidant peptides · Endogenous thiol antioxidant; chemically a gamma-glutamyl tripeptide.
Glutathione helps cells remove reactive chemicals and recycle their antioxidant defenses. It contains glutamate, cysteine and glycine. It also participates in pigment pathways, but changing blood glutathione does not prove a visible or health benefit.
- Glutathione peroxidase system: Uses reduced glutathione to help remove peroxides.
- Glutathione transferase system: Attaches glutathione to some chemicals so the body can remove them.
- Tyrosinase and melanin pathways: Proposed pigment effects include less tyrosinase activity and a shift toward lighter pigment.
Half-life: IV total glutathione half-life was 14.1 ± 9.2 minutes in one 10-person study.
Related to Glutathione
- NAD+ and precursors: NAD+ helps cells use energy; wellness injection benefits remain unproven.
Sources
- 503B Bulk Drug Substances List, FDA · FDA · 2026
- Bulk Drug Substances Nominated for Use in Compounding Under Section 503A of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, FDA · FDA · 2026
- FDA reminds compounders not to use dietary supplement grade glutathione for injectables, FDA · 2026
- Find product information about medicines, Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency · MHRA · 2026
- The 2026 Prohibited List, World Anti-Doping Agency · WADA · 2026
- Bulk Drug Substances Nominated for Use in Compounding Under Section 503B of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, FDA · FDA · 2025
- Advertising guidance for businesses involved with intravenous (IV) vitamin and related therapies: Complying with therapeutic goods advertising requirements, Therapeutic Goods Administration · 2023
- Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee Meeting June 8, 2022 Summary Minutes, FDA · 2022
- 30ml Reduced-Glutathione 200mg/ml (2020-11-13), Health Canada · 2020
- FDA highlights concerns with using dietary ingredient glutathione to compound sterile injectables, FDA · 2019
- BSS PLUS- balanced salt solution enriched with bicarbonate, dextrose, and glutathione kit, Alcon Laboratories, Inc. · DailyMed
- EU/3/06/361 - orphan designation for treatment of cystic fibrosis, European Medicines Agency
- Product information, Health Canada
- Validation of an HPLC-UV method for the analysis of glutathione and its impurities, FDA
- A cluster analysis of 466 patients demonstrates that glutathione supplementation could preferentially benefit advanced unstable cirrhosis phenotype rather than stable cirrhosis., Philips CA et al. · Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026
Sources checked: 2026-10-18.
Information only, not medical advice. Peptifacts does not sell anything and does not link to sellers.