L-GLUTATHIONE

Glutathione is a low molecular weight thiol-tripeptide that plays a prominent role in maintaining intracellular redox balance. Glutathione is an antioxidant present in almost every cell in the body, playing a role in the detoxification of drugs and xenobiotics. Reduced glutathione (GSH) acts as a hydrogen donor in the detoxification of hydrogen peroxide. As a dietary supplement, GSH possesses various systemic effects such as improvement of liver abnormalities, improvement of diabetic complication, protection from viral infection and antitumor activity. It is even used to treat autism. Its antimelanogenic properties result from a variety of mechanisms including stimulation of pheomelanin synthesis rather than darker eumelanin, its antioxidant effects and interference with intracellular trafficking of melanogenic enzymes. Glutathione also possesses certain antiaging properties. Glutathione is generally a safe ingredient for use as a dietary supplement. In the human body, glutathione exists in two forms, reduced and oxidized (GSSG), which can be readily converted to each other. However, it is not clear whether the two forms are physiologically similar, especially when melanogenesis is concerned.