Glutathione Reduced (GSH) 500mg 150 capsules, an ubiquitous antioxidant | Jarrow Formulas
Jarrow Formulas Glutathione Reduced is an ubiquitous antioxidant involved in many cellular functions such as detoxification, amino acid transport, production of coenzymes and recycling of vitamins E and C.
By serving as a critical nucleophilic scavenger, glutathione blocks free radical damage to all types of tissues. Glutathione is the most abundant intracellular thiol (sulfur-containing compound) and low molecular weight tripeptide found in living cells. Thiols such as glutathione, alpha lipoic acid and NAC are powerful sulfur-bearing antioxidants.
Aging is associated with a progressive decline in glutathione levels and impairment in glutathione biosynthesis in many tissues.
Glutathione plays an important role in the detoxification of alcohol. Overdosing on alcohol leads to glutathione depletion in the liver and other tissues.
key characteristics
• Reduced Glutathione (GSH) Capsules
• tripeptide: glycine, cysteine & glutamate
• 500 mg glutathione per capsule
• pharmaceutical grade glutathione
• a low ratio of reduced vs. oxidized glutathione is used as a measure of cellular toxicity
background reading
Glutathione (GSH) is a tripeptide composed of the amino acids glycine, cysteine, and glutamic acid. As one of the primary protective molecules in the body it is found, inside and outside of cells, in all tissues and body fluids. GSH is most highly concentrated in the liver, spleen, kidney, eye lens, erythrocytes, and leukocytes. Higher glutathione status and/or dietary intakes have been correlated with cardiovascular, oral and eye health, as well as increased vitality with aging.
The best food sources of glutathione are fresh fruits and vegetables and newly prepared meats. Since most methods of food processing destroy glutathione, the excessive intake of processed foods may be leading to modern diets that are often devoid of glutathione.
Studies evaluating dietary intake from food have found wide variations amongst individuals: 3-250 mg/day (mean: 35 mg/day). Additionally, body-stores tend to decrease with age and even fluctuate throughout the day.
Good By Mouth
Since GSH is a peptide, many assume that it is completely digested by enzymes in the intestines. Further fueling this assumption, early studies did not find an appreciable increase in plasma levels after GSH ingestion. However, it now appears that GSH’s uncommon linkage along the glutamate side-chain and the cysteine residue makes GSH partially resistant to common peptide cleavage enzymes. This not only impacts its digestion, but also its regulation inside the body.
Numerous studies have now demonstrated that oral glutathione is bioavailable and that blood levels may stay relatively constant even as tissue levels rise.
Oral glutathione feeds bodily tissues via three routes
1) absorption intact in the intestines followed by tissue uptake from blood,
2) degradation to its constituent amino acids in the GI (gastrointestinal) tract, cellular absorption, then intracellular GSH re-synthesis, and
3) paracellular passage into cells that line the GI tract.
The availability of L-cysteine is the bottleneck for glutathione synthesis in the body, since cysteine is the least prevalent of glutathione’s three constituent amino acids in the diet. This is one reason N-acetylcysteine (NAC) is also used to support glutathione levels. Overall, there are about 15 grams of GSH in the body, of which roughly four grams can be found in the liver.
Redox & Detox
GSH is the major endogenous antioxidant produced by the body, possessing a substantial reduction-oxidation (i.e. “redox”) potential.
Thus it can participate both directly and indirectly in the neutralization of free radicals and reactive oxygen species. It also helps maintain levels of exogenous antioxidants, such as vitamins C and E, in active forms. And of course, GSH is a cofactor for the enzyme
glutathione peroxidase, which primarily protects the body from oxidative damage.
GSH is added to lipophilic toxins, waste and xenobiotics in the liver during phase-2 detoxification to make them water-soluble and allow excretion from the body. As one example, GSH is necessary for the detoxification of methylglyoxal, a toxin produced as a by-product of human metabolism and thought to be a source of advanced glycation end-products (AGEs). GSH is also necessary to avoid acetaminophen toxicity. In fact, GSH levels are often intentionally bolstered in cases of overdose. GSH keeps the acetaminophen metabolite NAPQI (N-acetyl-p-benzoquinone imine) from binding to thiol groups of cellular proteins and causing cell-death.
What’s Your G-Ratio?
The ratio of reduced glutathione to oxidized glutathione within cells is often used as a measure of cellular toxicity. In healthy cells and tissues, more than 90% of the total glutathione pool is in the reduced form (GSH) and less than 10% exists in the disulfide form (GSSG). An increased GSSG-to-GSH ratio is considered indicative of oxidative stress and sometimes tissue dysfunction. Besides a poor diet, other lifestyle factors like smoking cigarettes, excessively consuming alcohol and chronically taking medications can alter the GSSG-to-GSH ratio. Taking Glutathione Reduced improves the overall GSSG-GSH ratio.
Product options: Size: 150 vcaps
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