NAD+
A helper molecule found in every cell that cells use to turn food into energy and to run repair enzymes.
Learn about NAD+Wellness & vitality
Glutathione
An antioxidant your body already makes that helps the liver clear waste and helps cells handle everyday chemical stress.
- Type
- Antioxidant tripeptide
- Origin
- Made by the body
- Category
- Wellness & vitality
- FDA status
- Injectable not approved
Overview
What it is
Glutathione is a tripeptide, meaning it is built from three amino acids: glutamine, cysteine, and glycine. Your body makes it on its own, and levels are highest in the liver.
Glutathione is sometimes called the body's master antioxidant, mostly because of how much of it the liver keeps on hand and how many jobs depend on it.
It became a clinical topic first through liver research, then through immune function, and later through skin, where a market for skin-lightening injections grew quickly.
That last use is the one regulators have pushed back on. Health agencies in several countries have warned about injectable glutathione sold for lightening skin.
Benefits
What it supports
- Supports the liver as it breaks down and clears waste products
- Supports immune defenses and helps balance oxidative stress, the wear and tear caused by unstable molecules
- Supports skin-tone and clarity goals
- Supports cellular energy goals alongside NAD+ or mitochondrial peptides
Mechanism
How it works
1
Normal metabolism creates unstable molecules called free radicals. Left alone they damage cell parts, and that damage is what oxidative stress means.
2
Glutathione neutralizes them by donating part of itself, then gets recycled back into its working form. That cycle runs constantly in every cell.
3
The liver uses it for a second job: attaching it to toxins and used-up medicines so they become water-soluble and can leave the body.
4
It also slows an enzyme called tyrosinase, which the body needs to make skin pigment. That is where the skin-lightening claims come from, and where the regulatory concern comes from too.
Context
Who it's for
Adults focused on liver function and how the body clears waste
People interested in immune defenses and handling everyday oxidative stress
Adults looking at skin tone and clarity goals
People comparing glutathione with NAD+ or mitochondrial peptides
Landscape
In the landscape
How this compound compares to related options in the wellness landscape.
In this area
Related therapies
Other compounds that support overlapping wellness goals.
MOTS-C
A rare peptide written in the DNA of mitochondria, the parts of the cell that make energy, and studied as a message from them to the rest of the cell.
Learn about MOTS-CSS-31
Elamipretide, a peptide that gathers at the inner wall of mitochondria and binds a fat called cardiolipin that the wall needs to work.
Learn about SS-31Questions
Glutathione FAQ
Good to know
Regulatory & considerations
Injectable glutathione is not FDA-approved. That means the FDA has not reviewed it for safety or effectiveness for the uses described here. Oral and skin-care versions sit in different product categories with different rules.
Peptides in our shop are sourced from US-licensed manufacturers.
Injectable glutathione is not FDA-approved. Health agencies in several countries have specifically warned against injections marketed for lightening skin.
Taking it by mouth is limited, because digestion breaks much of it down before it is absorbed. That is why forms and routes are not interchangeable.
It is a normal part of your biochemistry. Eating well, sleeping, and limiting alcohol all support the body's own supply.
Shop Glutathione
See current pricing and availability for Glutathione in our shop. If a medical evaluation is needed, a licensed provider guides you through it.
Individual results vary. General information on this site is not a substitute for professional medical advice.