Randomized controlled trial of oral glutathione supplementation on body stores of glutathione
Richie JP Jr, Nichenametla S, Neidig W, Calcagnotto A, Haley JS, Schell TD, Muscat JE
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Summary
A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in 54 non-smoking adults taking 250 or 1,000 mg/day of oral glutathione for six months. Blood glutathione rose above baseline at 1, 3 and 6 months on both doses; at six months the high-dose group showed 30–35% increases in erythrocytes, plasma and lymphocytes and 260% in buccal cells. Levels returned to baseline one month after stopping. A decrease in the whole-blood oxidised-to-reduced (GSSG/GSH) ratio was also reported, which the authors take as an indirect sign of reduced oxidative stress.
Key findings
- 1
Glutathione rose 30–35% in erythrocytes, plasma and lymphocytes in the high-dose group at six months
- 2
Buccal cells rose 260% — the size of the increase varies widely by tissue
- 3
The effect was dose-dependent, and clearer at 1,000 mg/day
- 4
Levels returned to baseline one month after stopping
- 5
A fall in the whole-blood oxidised-to-reduced (GSSG/GSH) ratio was also reported — an indirect marker of reduced oxidative stress
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GlutathioneBlood glutathione rose over six months of supplementation — 30–35% in erythrocytes, plasma and lymphocytes (Richie et al., 2015). A four-week trial at the same dose found no change (Allen & Bradley, 2011)
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