Reduced Glutathione - Endogenous Antioxidant in a Reduced State

Reduced Glutathione is a dietary supplement containing 500mg reduced glutathione per capsule, a powerful dose which allows significant amounts of glutathione to reach the body’s cells.

What exactly is reduced glutathione?

Glutathione is a molecule composed of 3 peptides: glutamic acid, cysteine and glycine. It is present at relatively high concentrations in every cell in the body: unlike vitamins, glutathione is a molecule produced naturally by the body.

However, this production declines with age, sometimes to the extent where it is insufficient to properly protect the body.

Why take glutathione in its reduced form?

Once in the gut, glutathione molecules are captured by enzymes called gamma-glutamyl transpeptidases, which convert them into compounds that are relatively useless. Some molecules, however, escape this fate: they cross the intestinal barrier before being oxidised by these enzymes and thus reach the bloodstream in a fully-functioning state.

To maximise the amount of these ‘escapee’ molecules, one strategy is to increase the body’s uptake of reduced glutathione (1). Offering 500mg per capsule, our supplement Reduced Glutathione is the perfect way to do this.

Another way is to bind the glutathione to a particular molecular group in order to protect it from this fate. This is a more discerning approach which we also offer with our supplement S-Acetyl Glutathione, a reduced glutathione supplement in an acetylated form.

Can reduced glutathione reach the brain?

The ability of reduced glutathione to reach cells in the brain is hampered by the blood-brain barrier (3). However, natural glutathione production in brain cells relies on recycling its constituents, and as a result, an increase in glutathione in the bloodstream can still promote this process.

Why is the brain more vulnerable to oxidative stress?

There are a number of reasons why the brain is more vulnerable to oxidative stress:

1. the brain contains a large amount of unsaturated fatty acids which are highly oxidisable and potentially very damaging to neighbouring cells;
2. brain cells consume more than 20% of the oxygen used by the body, but represent just 2% of body mass: significant numbers of reactive oxygen species (ROS) are thus generated in the brain;
3. the brain is rich in iron which is essential for DNA synthesis but which is involved in lipid peroxidation;
4. there are fewer antioxidant enzymes such as endogenous glutathione in the brain than in other organs.

These factors are all exacerbated by age and clearly play a part in the development of neurodegenerative diseases.

How should Reduced Glutathione be taken?

We recommend taking one or two tablets a day, as advised by your therapist, with a meal.

To boost the effects of glutathione, we’d also recommend combining it with one of the following:

• Vitamin C, which helps fight oxidative stress;
• Vitamin E , a powerful antioxidant which helps protect cells;
• Flavonoids, a group of more than 6000 natural compounds which exert myriad biological activities;
• Zinc, an indirect antioxidant which acts as a stabiliser of superoxide dismutase;
• Superoxide dismutase itself, an essential element in the mechanism of free radical elimination.

1. Schulz et al, Glutathione, oxidative stress and neurodegeneration, Eur J Biochem 267 (16):4904-11, 2000