What is glutathione?
Glutathione is your body’s inherent “antioxidant guardian”, a small molecule composed of three amino acids (glutamic acid, cysteine, and glycine).
The most distinctive feature of glutathione is that it has a “life-saving group” (-SH), which can neutralize various harmful substances.
This substance is present in high quantities in the human body, in every cell, especially in the liver where it is particularly abundant.
What does glutathione do in body?
- Antioxidant: Like a “cleaner for the human body”, it eliminates free radicals and protects cells from oxidative damage
- Detoxification expert: It helps us process toxins such as alcohol, heavy metals, and drug residues in the liver
- Immunomodulator: It affects the function of immune cells and can both fight inflammation and participate in immune defense
- Cell communicator: Transmits cell signals by modifying proteins
- DNA Protector: Reduce the damage of radiation and toxins to genetic material
latest research on glutathione has found:
- It can help resist antibiotics in bacteria through special ways
- There is a problem with the transport of glutathione in the eye cells of patients with diabetic eye disease
- It is related to common problems among the older people such as physical weakness and hypertension
Where is glutathione actually applied?
1. Medical field
- The use before and after liver cancer surgery can accelerate the recovery of liver function (from 7 days to 3.5 days)
- The treatment effect on renal failure is remarkable (the effective rate has increased from 86.7% to 95%).
- New treatments for brain tumors are under development (taking advantage of the tumor-dependent glutathione characteristic)
- It can be made into nanomedicines for the treatment of drug-induced kidney injury (the effect is better when combined with traditional Chinese medicine components)
- Develop new inhaled drugs for lung cancer (taking advantage of the high content of glutathione in tumors)
2. Agricultural field
- Patchouli that helps crops resist heavy metal pollution (such as cadmium pollution)
- Enhance the stress resistance of plants (such as drought resistance, cold resistance, etc.)
3. Daily life
- Ingredients of whitening skin care products (by inhibiting melanin production
- Ingredients of alcohol-relieving products (Enhancing liver detoxification ability)
- Anti-aging supplements (maintaining the youthful state of cells
Frontier Research Progress of Glutathione
Scientists have recently figured out:
- Some brain tumors are particularly dependent on glutathione. The components of the traditional Chinese medicine Tripterygium wilfordii can cut off the supply and starve cancer cells to death
- Vision problems caused by diabetes are related to the reduction of glutathione in the mitochondria of eye cells
- When glutathione is made into nanoparticles and combined with traditional Chinese medicine, the effect of treating kidney damage is doubled
- The development of intelligent nanomedicines will only release their efficacy when exposed to the high GSH environment of tumors
- The discovery of glutathione metabolic enzyme GPX1 may be a new target for anti-aging
A simple summary
Glutathione is like a “multifunctional Swiss Army knife” in your body:
- It is both antioxidant and detoxifying
- It not only prevents aging but also enhances immunity
- Now it is not only used for treating diseases but also helps crops resist pollution
- Scientists are seeking ways to use it to precisely target cancer cells
Although oral supplementation has limited effects (due to low absorption rates), its application prospects are very broad through new methods such as nanotechnology and targeted drug delivery.
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle (adequate sleep, moderate exercise, and eating more fresh fruits and vegetables) is the best way to keep the level of glutathione in the body.
