Glutathione: The Intracellular Antioxidant Tripeptide

Glutathione is the most abundant antioxidant inside cells, and one of the few peptides whose name is familiar outside peptide research. It is a tripeptide — and its unusual γ-peptide bond is the reason it survives in the cell long enough to do its job.

The molecule

Glutathione is γ-L-glutamyl-L-cysteinyl-glycine (C₁₀H₁₇N₃O₆S, ≈ 307 g/mol). The γ-linkage between glutamate and cysteine (rather than the usual α-linkage) makes it resistant to the peptidases that would otherwise break a three-amino-acid peptide down quickly — a structural detail that is central to its biology.

What the research looks at

• Redox homeostasis — the glutathione/glutathione disulfide (GSH/GSSG) balance is a standard readout of oxidative state
• Oxidative-stress research — free-radical biology and antioxidant defense
• Detoxification and phase-II metabolism — glutathione conjugation pathways
• Cell-culture supplementation — a common additive in redox-sensitive assays

Its metabolic-supplementation neighbor is L-Carnitine.

Handling notes

Lyophilized, water soluble. Store at −20°C lyophilized, protect from light.

See Glutathione for CAS, purity and full specifications.

For laboratory research use only. Not medical advice.