Effects of N-acetylcysteine, oral glutathione (GSH) and a novel sublingual form of GSH on oxidative stress markers: A comparative crossover study.

• Oral GSH is known for its poor bioavailability in humans.
• We compared a new sublingual GSH with NAC and oral GSH on oxidative stress markers.
• On a 3-weeks period, sublingual GSH improved the GSH/GSSG ratio.
• Sublingual GSH significantly increased plasmatic vitamin E levels in subjects.
• The sublingual form of GSH showed superior effects over NAC and oral GSH.

Glutathione (GSH) is critical to fight against oxidative stress. Its very low bioavailability limits the interest of a supplementation. The purpose of this study was to compare the bioavailability, the effect on oxidative stress markers and the safety of a new sublingual form of GSH with two commonly used dietary supplements, N-acetylcysteine (NAC) and oral GSH. The study was a three-week randomized crossover trial. 20 Volunteers with metabolic syndrome were enrolled. GSH levels and several oxidative stress markers were determined at different times during each 21-days period. Compared to oral GSH group, an increase of total and reduced GSH levels in plasma and a higher GSH/GSSG ratio (p=0.003) was observed in sublingual GSH group. After 3 weeks of administration, there was a significant increase of vitamin E level in plasma only in sublingual GSH group (0.83 µmol/g; p=0.04). Our results demonstrate the superiority of a new sublingual form of GSH over the oral GSH form and NAC in terms of GSH supplementation.

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