Reduced glutathione supplement, endogenous antioxidant

Reduced Glutathione is a dietary supplement containing 500mg reduced glutathione per tablet, 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 tablet, 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.