{"slug":"glutathione","seoKey":"glutathione","displayName":"Glutathione","codes":["GSH","V03AB32"],"synonyms":["gamma-glutamylcysteinylglycine","L-glutathione","reduced glutathione","Glutathion","gamma-L-glutamyl-L-cysteinylglycine","GSSG (the oxidised dimer, glutathione disulfide, is a DIFFERENT substance with its own registry number)","authorised as a prescription medicine in Japan since 1967 and in Italy for a narrow oncology indication (two markets the registry does not track)"],"legalClass":"supplement","identifiers":{"cas":"70-18-8","pubchemCid":124886,"unii":"GAN16C9B8O","inchikey":"RWSXRVCMGQZWBV-WDSKDSINSA-N","wikidataQid":"Q116907","formula":"C10H17N3O6S","molecularWeight":307.33,"sequence":"gamma-Glu-Cys-Gly"},"approvals":[{"market":"US","status":"not_approved","note":"No approved medicinal product and no pharmacopoeial monograph; oral products are marketed as dietary supplements without an approval procedure. The substance sits in category 1 of the compounding evaluation, meaning it was nominated with sufficient documentation and is still under assessment. The regulator warned in 2019 about compounding sterile injectables from supplement-grade material after seven people fell ill within minutes of an infusion.","source":"https://www.fda.gov/drugs/human-drug-compounding/bulk-drug-substances-used-compounding-under-section-503a-fdc-act"},{"market":"EU","status":"not_approved","note":"No centrally authorised medicinal product. Not authorised as a novel food either: the consolidated union list was searched on 2026-09-07 with no result, and oral products rely instead on a claim of significant consumption before 1997. Injectable products for cosmetic purposes are authorised nowhere in the union.","source":"https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/medicines?search_api_fulltext=glutathione"},{"market":"DE","status":"not_approved","note":"No authorised finished medicinal product identified. Oral products are sold as food supplements, which are only notified to the federal office before first marketing and are not assessed by any authority. An infusion for cosmetic purposes would be the use of an unauthorised medicinal product.","source":"https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/amg_1976/__21.html"},{"market":"UK","status":"not_approved","note":"No authorised medicinal product identified. A 2025 case report states explicitly that intravenous products for cosmetic purposes are used in the country without regulatory approval. Not verified against a primary regulator document on 2026-09-07.","source":"https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/search?q=glutathione"},{"market":"AU","status":"not_approved","note":"No authorised medicinal product identified. The Poisons Standard was not checked in full text for this monograph, so the finding follows from the absence of an authorisation and is not primary-verified.","source":"https://www.tga.gov.au/resources/artg"},{"market":"CA","status":"not_approved","note":"No authorised medicinal product identified. Not verified against a primary regulator document on 2026-09-07.","source":"https://health-products.canada.ca/api/drug/activeingredient/?ingredientname=glutathione"},{"market":"CH","status":"not_approved","note":"No authorised medicinal product identified. Not verified against a primary regulator document on 2026-09-07.","source":"https://www.swissmedicinfo.ch/"}],"devStage":"approved","strongestEvidence":"rct_phase3","wada":{"status":"not_listed","listYear":2026,"source":"https://www.wada-ama.org/en/prohibited-list"},"trials":[{"nct":"NCT00506688","name":"Inhaled glutathione in cystic fibrosis","phase":"Phase 2","n":153,"status":"COMPLETED"},{"nct":"NCT01450267","name":"Inhaled glutathione versus placebo in cystic fibrosis","n":105,"status":"COMPLETED"},{"nct":"NCT01177319","name":"Parkinson disease","phase":"Phase 2","n":20,"status":"COMPLETED"},{"nct":"NCT02324426","name":"Central nervous system uptake after intranasal administration","phase":"Phase 1","n":15,"status":"COMPLETED"},{"nct":"NCT03493178","name":"Mild cognitive impairment","phase":"Early Phase 1","n":60,"status":"ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING"},{"nct":"NCT04740580","name":"Brain metabolism and inflammation in Alzheimer disease","phase":"Early Phase 1","n":52,"status":"RECRUITING"},{"nct":"NCT02311907","name":"Prevention of peripheral neuropathy under platinum and taxane chemotherapy","phase":"Phase 3","n":195,"status":"COMPLETED"},{"nct":"NCT04105504","name":"Oral administration as a skin whitening agent","phase":"Phase 1","n":90,"status":"COMPLETED"},{"nct":"NCT02278822","name":"Oral liposomal supplementation in healthy subjects","n":12,"status":"COMPLETED"},{"nct":"NCT06313164","name":"Oxidative damage and glycated haemoglobin in type 2 diabetes","n":217,"status":"COMPLETED"},{"nct":"NCT04742725","name":"Mild to moderate COVID-19","phase":"Phase 2","n":231,"status":"COMPLETED"},{"nct":"NCT06896422","name":"Combination with checkpoint inhibition and chemotherapy in advanced lung cancer","phase":"Phase 1","n":80,"status":"RECRUITING"},{"nct":"NCT06296212","name":"Intravenous administration to prevent myocardial injury in pneumonia","phase":"Phase 3","n":178,"status":"UNKNOWN"},{"nct":"NCT03725241","name":"Immunity in individuals training for a marathon","n":84,"status":"COMPLETED"},{"nct":"NCT07263841","name":"Mesotherapy compared with tranexamic acid in post-burn facial hyperpigmentation","phase":"Phase 2","n":60,"status":"ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING"}],"sameAs":["https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q116907","https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/124886"],"lastVerified":"2026-09-07","version":"1.0","published":true,"locale":"en","title":"Glutathione: what the studies show, status and safety","summary":"Glutathione is a small molecule that every human cell builds for itself. Its legal standing splits three ways. Japan has licensed it as a prescription medicine since 1967, and Italy licenses an injection for one narrow purpose in cancer care. In the European Union and the United States it is sold as a food supplement, with no medicine approval. As a cosmetic whitening drip it is approved nowhere, and regulators have tied such drips to fever, shock and hospital admissions.","updated":"2026-09-07","url":"https://mypep.app/peptides/glutathione"}