The science behind the formula

Glutathione Push

A summary of the published, peer-reviewed research on the ingredients in this formula. Every claim below is linked to its source study.

7 peer-reviewed sources
Every citation verified

What’s in it

Glutathione 600 mg (single) or 1,200 mg (double) in sterile water, given as a slow IV push. Included with most of our nutrient IVs.

What the research shows

We finish nearly every nutrient IV with a glutathione push, and the reason is that glutathione is the single most consequential antioxidant molecule in the body. It is the most abundant intracellular antioxidant and the cell's central redox regulator ¹, and it is the specific molecule that liver enzymes conjugate onto toxins during Phase II detoxification, rendering them water-soluble so they can be excreted ². Because glutathione is consumed in both roles, supply matters — and supply declines with age. A controlled clinical study using stable-isotope tracing found glutathione levels fall sharply in older adults, and that restoring glutathione synthesis returned their oxidative stress markers to youthful levels within two weeks ³.

The push is given intravenously because that route has the clinical record. In an open-label clinical trial, intravenous glutathione at 600 mg twice daily produced a 42% improvement in disability in early Parkinson's disease, with benefit lasting months after treatment stopped ⁴, and a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial confirmed intravenous glutathione was well tolerated at 1,400 mg three times a week, with no participant discontinuing treatment ⁵. A randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial found five days of IV glutathione increased pain-free walking distance by roughly 37% while measurably improving blood flow ⁶. In a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial in healthy women, glutathione lowered melanin index and UV spots, significantly reduced wrinkles and increased skin elasticity ⁷. We offer the push in a single 600 mg dose and a double 1,200 mg dose; our Anti-Inflammatory IV includes the double by default.

Full ingredient list

Exact amounts delivered in each size. Formulas are compounded per patient and can be adjusted by your provider.

Single

Glutathione	600 mg
Sterile Water 7 mL

Double

Glutathione	1200 mg
Sterile Water 14 mL

Supporting studies

1

Glutathione is the body's most abundant intracellular antioxidant and its central redox regulator.

This widely cited review in Molecular Aspects of Medicine describes glutathione as the most abundant low-molecular-weight thiol compound synthesized in human cells. The authors detail its role in protecting cells from oxidative damage and from the toxicity of reactive xenobiotic electrophiles, and in maintaining the cell's overall redox balance. The paper covers where oxidants and electrophiles come from, how glutathione eliminates them (by reduction and by conjugation), and how glutathione synthesis is regulated - including therapeutic strategies for raising cellular glutathione content.

Mechanistic review Forman HJ, Zhang H, Rinna A Glutathione: overview of its protective roles, measurement, and biosynthesis. Molecular Aspects of Medicine. 2009. PMID 18796312 ↗
2

Glutathione is the molecule liver enzymes attach to toxins during Phase II detoxification so they can be excreted.

This Annual Review of Pharmacology and Toxicology review covers the three mammalian glutathione transferase (GST) families - cytosolic, mitochondrial, and microsomal. These Phase II enzymes conjugate glutathione onto electrophilic xenobiotics such as carcinogens and environmental pollutants, and also onto endogenous compounds including aldehydes, quinones, and lipid hydroperoxides generated during oxidative stress. The review also describes glutathione transferases' roles in leukotriene, prostaglandin, and steroid hormone biosynthesis, and in modulating gene expression through nuclear receptor pathways. Glutathione is the required cofactor for this entire conjugation system.

Mechanistic review Hayes JD, Flanagan JU, Jowsey IR Glutathione transferases. Annual Review of Pharmacology and Toxicology. 2005. PMID 15822171 ↗
3

Glutathione levels fall sharply with age, and restoring glutathione synthesis returns older adults' oxidative stress markers to youthful levels within two weeks.

Using stable-isotope infusion techniques, researchers compared eight older and eight younger adults. Older subjects had markedly lower red blood cell glutathione concentrations, a substantially reduced rate of glutathione synthesis, and elevated markers of oxidative stress and oxidant damage. After just two weeks of supplementation with the glutathione precursors cysteine and glycine, older subjects' glutathione synthesis rates and concentrations were fully restored and their oxidative stress markers fell to levels comparable with the young control group. Route: dietary/oral precursor supplementation; glutathione status measured directly in blood.

Controlled clinical study with stable-isotope kinetics Sekhar RV, Patel SG, Guthikonda AP, et al. Deficient synthesis of glutathione underlies oxidative stress in aging and can be corrected by dietary cysteine and glycine supplementation. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2011. PMID 21795440 ↗
4

Intravenous glutathione at 600 mg twice daily produced a 42% improvement in disability in early Parkinson's disease, with benefit lasting months after treatment stopped.

Nine patients with early, previously untreated Parkinson's disease received 600 mg of reduced glutathione intravenously twice daily for 30 days. All patients improved significantly, with an average 42% decline in disability scores. The therapeutic benefit persisted for two to four months after glutathione was discontinued. The authors concluded that in untreated Parkinson's patients, glutathione has symptomatic efficacy and possibly retards disease progression - work motivated by the established finding that glutathione is depleted in the substantia nigra of Parkinson's patients in proportion to disease severity. Route: intravenous, 600 mg per dose.

Open-label clinical trial Sechi G, Deledda MG, Bua G, et al. Reduced intravenous glutathione in the treatment of early Parkinson's disease. Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry. 1996. PMID 8938817 ↗
5

In a randomized double-blind trial, intravenous glutathione was well tolerated at 1,400 mg three times a week, with no participant stopping treatment because of side effects.

Twenty-one Parkinson's disease patients were randomized to receive 1,400 mg of intravenous glutathione or placebo three times weekly for four weeks. Glutathione was well tolerated, there were no withdrawals because of adverse events in either group, and reported adverse events were similar between glutathione and placebo. During the treatment period, motor scores on the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale improved by an average of 2.8 units more in the glutathione group than in placebo. The investigators concluded the data suggest the possibility of a mild symptomatic effect warranting a larger study. Route: intravenous.

Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial Hauser RA, Lyons KE, McClain T, Carter S, Perlmutter D Randomized, double-blind, pilot evaluation of intravenous glutathione in Parkinson's disease. Movement Disorders. 2009. PMID 19230029 ↗
6

Five days of intravenous glutathione increased pain-free walking distance by roughly 37% and measurably improved both large- and small-vessel blood flow in patients with peripheral artery disease.

Forty patients with Fontaine stage II peripheral obstructive arterial disease at Verona University were randomized to intravenous glutathione twice daily or saline twice daily for five days. Pain-free walking distance rose to 196 +/- 15 meters with glutathione versus 143 +/- 11 meters with placebo (P<.04). Macrocirculatory flow after treadmill testing improved to 9.3 +/- 2 versus 2.8 +/- 0.5 mL per 100 mL/min (P<.002), and post-ischemic hyperemia measured by laser Doppler rose to 14.4 +/- 3.2 versus 6.18 +/- 1.5 perfusion units (P<.005). The authors concluded glutathione prolongs pain-free walking distance and improves both macrocirculatory and microcirculatory function. Route: intravenous infusion.

Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial Arosio E, De Marchi S, Zannoni M, Prior M, Lechi A Effect of glutathione infusion on leg arterial circulation, cutaneous microcirculation, and pain-free walking distance in patients with peripheral obstructive arterial disease: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Mayo Clinic Proceedings. 2002. PMID 12173710 ↗
7

In a randomized trial in healthy women, glutathione supplementation lowered melanin index and UV spots, significantly reduced wrinkles, and increased skin elasticity.

Healthy female subjects were randomized in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, three-arm design to reduced glutathione (GSH, 250 mg/day), oxidized glutathione (GSSG, 250 mg/day), or placebo for 12 weeks. Melanin index and ultraviolet spots at all measured sites - face and arm - trended lower with both GSH and GSSG than with placebo. Subjects receiving GSH showed a significant reduction in wrinkles at several evaluated sites, and both glutathione forms showed a trend toward increased skin elasticity. There were no serious adverse effects throughout the study. Route: oral.

Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial Weschawalit S, Thongthip S, Phutrakool P, Asawanonda P Glutathione and its antiaging and antimelanogenic effects. Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology. 2017. PMID 28490897 ↗

References

1Forman HJ, Zhang H, Rinna A. Glutathione: overview of its protective roles, measurement, and biosynthesis. Molecular Aspects of Medicine. 2009. PMID 18796312 ↗
2Hayes JD, Flanagan JU, Jowsey IR. Glutathione transferases. Annual Review of Pharmacology and Toxicology. 2005. PMID 15822171 ↗
3Sekhar RV, Patel SG, Guthikonda AP, et al. Deficient synthesis of glutathione underlies oxidative stress in aging and can be corrected by dietary cysteine and glycine supplementation. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2011. PMID 21795440 ↗
4Sechi G, Deledda MG, Bua G, et al. Reduced intravenous glutathione in the treatment of early Parkinson's disease. Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry. 1996. PMID 8938817 ↗
5Hauser RA, Lyons KE, McClain T, Carter S, Perlmutter D. Randomized, double-blind, pilot evaluation of intravenous glutathione in Parkinson's disease. Movement Disorders. 2009. PMID 19230029 ↗
6Arosio E, De Marchi S, Zannoni M, Prior M, Lechi A. Effect of glutathione infusion on leg arterial circulation, cutaneous microcirculation, and pain-free walking distance in patients with peripheral obstructive arterial disease: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Mayo Clinic Proceedings. 2002. PMID 12173710 ↗
7Weschawalit S, Thongthip S, Phutrakool P, Asawanonda P. Glutathione and its antiaging and antimelanogenic effects. Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology. 2017. PMID 28490897 ↗

On our sourcing. Every one of the 7 sources on this page was checked against the live PubMed database — confirming that each PubMed ID points to the exact paper cited, with a matching title, journal and year. Click any reference to read the original.

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This page describes what the published research shows about the ingredients in this formula. It is educational information about those ingredients. It is not a claim that this or any Nature & Science Medicine infusion diagnoses, treats, cures or prevents any disease, and it is not a substitute for a consultation with a licensed provider. Individual results vary.