Immune & other actives
Glutathione
Also written: GSH · Reduced glutathione · L-glutathione
A tripeptide the body makes on its own, sold as an injectable and an IV. What it is, and why 'the body already makes it' is not the end of the conversation.
Glutathione is a tripeptide — three amino acids — that the body synthesises itself and uses widely. Like NAD+, it is an endogenous molecule rather than a designed compound, and like NAD+, the marketing around it leans on that fact as if it answered every question. It does not: making a molecule is not the same as benefiting from more of it delivered from outside.
What the format changes
Supplied lyophilized in a fairly high-strength vial and reconstituted, and also administered intravenously in clinics. Glutathione is known to be sensitive — it oxidises — so how it is manufactured, stabilised, stored and handled is not a background detail, it is central to whether what reaches a patient is what left the facility.
What to ask before ordering
The standard questions, with unusual weight on stability and form: is it the reduced form, how is it stabilised, and what does the certificate say about the material as supplied rather than as originally made. A molecule that degrades on contact with air rewards a careful supply chain and punishes a careless one.
What we are not claiming
Anything it does — for skin, for the liver, for oxidative stress, for anything. What we can speak to is the material: what it is, what form it is in, how it was tested, and how it must be handled to still be that when it is used.
Questions we get about Glutathione
- What is glutathione?
- A tripeptide the body makes and uses itself. It is supplied as a lyophilized vial or given intravenously in clinics.
- Why does stability matter so much for glutathione?
- It oxidises readily, so manufacturing, stabilisation, storage and handling determine whether the material used is still what left the facility. Ask what the certificate says about the material as supplied.
- Is glutathione FDA approved for the uses it is marketed for?
- No. It is not approved for the prevention, treatment, mitigation or cure of any disease. A supplier can document the material and its testing, not the outcomes.
Read next from the library
- What a peptide actually isNot a drug class, not a supplement, not a hormone. A length. Once that lands, most of the confusion in this category goes away.
- "Is it FDA approved?" is usually the wrong questionNot because the answer is uncomfortable, but because approval, registration, clearance and certification are four different things — and only one of them is usually on offer.
- How to read a certificate of analysisThe document that separates a supply chain you can defend from one you are trusting. Six fields, and one question that matters more than the rest.