Is it better to take glutathione or make more of it?

It depends what you want to move. Sulforaphane raises the transcription of the genes that build glutathione, and it scores 6.8 against glutathione's 6.2. But glutathione taken directly for 6 months raised body stores 30 to 35% and more than doubled natural-killer cytotoxicity in Richie 2015, which is a harder number than anything on the induction side.

Does oral glutathione even absorb?

In plain capsules, mostly no. Witschi 1992 gave about 3 g and plasma glutathione did not move over 270 minutes, and Allen 2011 found no biomarker change after 4 weeks. Two things fix it: time, since Richie 2015 needed 6 months to raise stores, and form, since Schmitt 2015 found a sublingual preparation shifted the reduced-to-oxidised ratio while plain oral did not.

Do I need a myrosinase product for sulforaphane?

Yes, or a pre-stabilised sulforaphane. Glucoraphanin is inert until myrosinase converts it, and Shapiro 1998 showed that conversion depends on the enzyme and your gut flora. Mastaloudis 2026 measured 39.8% bioavailability with mustard-seed myrosinase against 18.6% without. A glucoraphanin-only capsule is a bet on your microbiome.

Which one is better for the liver?

They tie at 6.0 and their evidence is different in kind. Glutathione has Honda 2017, an open-label pilot where 34 NAFLD patients dropped ALT from 68.9 to 58.1 over four months. Sulforaphane has Egner 2014, where 291 adults raised urinary benzene conjugate excretion 61%, which is phase 2 conjugation rather than a liver-disease endpoint.

Can I take sulforaphane and glutathione together?

Mechanistically it is the most sensible pairing on this page, and no trial has tested it. Sulforaphane drives NRF2 transcription of the enzymes that synthesise glutathione, so supplying the finished molecule alongside is complementary rather than duplicated. Add one at a time so you know which moved the marker.

Will glutathione lighten my skin?

The evidence says no and the injectable route is dangerous. Weschawalit 2017 found the melanin index only trended lower without reaching significance, and Sitohang 2020 reviewed three RCTs and concluded it is not beneficial enough with no lasting effect. The Philippine FDA advisory on injectable glutathione names liver, kidney and nervous-system toxicity and Stevens-Johnson syndrome.

How long before either one works?

Sulforaphane gives a first noticeable change at about 4 weeks with full effect at 12, on a 12-week window. Glutathione also starts at about 4 weeks but its report puts full effect at 6 months, which matches the Richie 2015 timeline. A four-week glutathione trial is the design that produced the null results, so do not run one and draw conclusions.

Head-to-Head Comparison

Sulforaphane vs Glutathione: Which Is the Better Antioxidant?

Should I take sulforaphane or glutathione?

Reviewed 09/08/2026

Sulforaphane scores 6.8 and glutathione 6.2, and both have a delivery problem. Sulforaphane needs active myrosinase or you absorb half as much. Plain oral glutathione barely raises blood levels at all. Sulforaphane wins blood sugar and cardiovascular. Glutathione wins antioxidant, immune, energy and neuroprotection.

Sulforaphane 6.8, glutathione 6.2. The gap is efficacy and evidence: 3.5 against 2.6, and 3.8 against 2.8.
They are not alternatives in the mechanism sense. Sulforaphane makes your cells build more glutathione. Glutathione is the thing being built.
Both fail on delivery unless you buy the right form. Mastaloudis 2026 doubled sulforaphane bioavailability with mustard-seed myrosinase, 39.8% against 18.6%.
Plain oral glutathione is close to useless acutely. Witschi 1992 gave about 3 g and plasma glutathione did not move over 270 minutes.
Six months changes that. Richie 2015 gave 1,000 mg a day for 6 months, raised body stores 30 to 35% and more than doubled natural-killer cytotoxicity.
Sulforaphane's best result is pollution, not wellness. Egner 2014 raised urinary benzene conjugate excretion 61% in 291 adults in Qidong.
Both have real failures. Sulforaphane was null in COPD (Wise 2016) and pneumonia (De Soyza 2024). Glutathione was null for Parkinson's on the controlled endpoint (Hauser 2009).
Never inject glutathione for skin lightening. The Philippine FDA advisory lists liver, kidney and nervous-system toxicity and Stevens-Johnson syndrome.

At a Glance

Option A

Sulforaphane

6.8 / 10 Worth trying

Upside

Efficacy 3.5
Breadth 3.8
Evidence 3.8
Speed 3.2
Durability 2.6
Bioindividuality 2.8

Downside

Safety Risk 1.8
Side Effects 2.2
Cost 2.3
Effort 2.2
Opportunity Cost 2.5
Dependency 1.0
Reversibility 1.4

Best at:

Liver Detox 6.0
Blood Sugar 5.6
Antioxidant 5.5
Metabolic Health 5.4

Broccoli sprout NRF2 activator. BioHarmony 6.8, worth trying.

Read full BioHarmony report →

Option B

Glutathione (GSH)

6.2 / 10 Worth trying

Upside

Efficacy 2.6
Breadth 3.0
Evidence 2.8
Speed 2.5
Durability 2.3
Bioindividuality 3.0

Downside

Safety Risk 1.6
Side Effects 1.7
Cost 2.2
Effort 2.0
Opportunity Cost 2.4
Dependency 1.3
Reversibility 1.3

Best at:

Antioxidant 6.5
Liver Detox 6.0
Immune Function 5.5
Metabolic Health 5.2

The finished antioxidant tripeptide, taken directly. BioHarmony 6.2, worth trying.

Read full BioHarmony report →

Head-to-Head Verdict

Use Case	Winner	Rationale
Blood Sugar	Sulforaphane	Sulforaphane 5.6 against glutathione's 3.0, and it comes from a specific mechanism rather than a general antioxidant claim. Axelsson 2017 combined mechanistic work with a 97-person type 2 diabetes RCT and found reduced hepatic glucose production, with fasting glucose and HbA1c improving in the obese dysregulated subgroup.Read the qualifier: Dwibedi 2025 in 74 prediabetic adults missed its prespecified 0.3 mmol/L threshold, with only a responder subgroup near 0.4.
Cardiovascular	Sulforaphane	Sulforaphane 4.8 against 3.0. Bahadoran 2012 randomised 81 people with type 2 diabetes to broccoli sprouts and improved triglycerides and the oxidised LDL to LDL ratio over four weeks. Neither number is high, and neither intervention has a cardiovascular outcome trial. This row is markers.
Antioxidant	Glutathione (GSH)	Glutathione 6.5 against sulforaphane's 5.5. This is the definitional row and it goes to the molecule that is the antioxidant rather than the one that induces it, but only on a long timescale. Richie 2015 needed 6 months at 1,000 mg a day to raise body stores 30 to 35%. Allen 2011 gave 500 mg twice daily for 4 weeks and found no change in oxidative-stress biomarkers.
Immune Function	Glutathione (GSH)	Glutathione 5.5 against 4.5, on the most striking single number in either report: natural-killer cell cytotoxicity more than doubled in Richie 2015 after 6 months. Sinha 2018 saw immune markers rise with liposomal glutathione but in an uncontrolled 12-person pilot. Sulforaphane's immune case is indirect, through phase 2 gene transcription.
Energy	Glutathione (GSH)	Glutathione 4.5 against sulforaphane's 1.9, the widest gap in the matrix. Both scores are modest, and glutathione's edge comes from the redox buffering and antioxidant recycling of vitamins C and E rather than from an energy trial. Nobody has randomised either molecule against fatigue as a primary endpoint.
Neuroprotection	Glutathione (GSH)	Glutathione 4.5 against 2.6, and the row deserves its caveat. The Parkinson's literature is where glutathione was tested hardest and it did not deliver: Hauser 2009 randomised 21 patients to IV glutathione for a 2.8-unit UPDRS difference that was not significant, and Mischley 2017 found neither intranasal arm beat placebo in 45 patients.Sulforaphane's own neuro data is Nouchi 2022, improved processing speed and negative mood in 144 older adults with no change in HO-1, GST, TNF-alpha or BDNF.
Liver Detox	Tie	Both score 6.0, and the tie is genuine because the evidence is equally partial on each side. Glutathione has Honda 2017, an open-label pilot in 34 NAFLD patients where 300 mg a day for four months lowered ALT from 68.9 to 58.1.Sulforaphane has Egner 2014, where a broccoli sprout beverage raised urinary benzene conjugate excretion 61% in 291 adults, which is phase 2 conjugation working rather than a liver-disease outcome.
Metabolic Health	Tie	Sulforaphane 5.4, glutathione 5.2. Two tenths of a point is not a decision. Sulforaphane's case is Axelsson 2017 and Bahadoran 2012, both in dysregulated populations. Glutathione's is the NAFLD ALT signal and the GlyNAC work (Kumar 2023), which tested glycine plus N-acetylcysteine rather than glutathione itself.
Anti Inflammatory	Tie	Both exactly 5.0. Sulforaphane's route is NRF2-driven transcription of antioxidant and phase 2 genes, which is upstream of inflammation rather than aimed at it. Glutathione's is redox buffering and glutathione peroxidase activity. Neither has an inflammatory-disease outcome trial, and sulforaphane's two attempts at inflammatory lung endpoints, COPD in 2016 and pneumonia in 2024, were both null.

Cost Comparison

Intervention	Monthly Cost	Notes
Sulforaphane (broccoli sprout extract)	$25 to $60	Extracted from the source report rather than estimated, priced 2026-09-08, retail. That buys a glucoraphanin plus myrosinase product at the clinical dose of about 150 micromoles a day. Home-grown broccoli sprouts cost cents per dose and add days of growing time, which is the real trade rather than the money.
Glutathione (oral)	$20 to $45	ESTIMATE, priced 2026-09-07, retail. At 1,000 mg a day you need 60 capsules of 500 mg a month. Plain oral bottles run about $20 to $30 per 60 capsules and liposomal Setria products $32 to $45. Buy the absorbable form, because the plain capsules are what the null studies used.
The difference	About $5 to $15 a month	Price is not the deciding factor. The two ranges overlap almost completely, which is unusual for a make-it-yourself against buy-it-finished pair, and it means the choice should be made on use case rather than budget.What both prices hide is a form penalty. A cheap sulforaphane product with no active myrosinase delivers roughly half the sulforaphane, and cheap plain glutathione capsules are the exact preparation that failed to move biomarkers in Witschi 1992 and Allen 2011. Paying the top of each range is how you buy the version the trials used.

When to Switch

Both take a while and both need the right form before the clock is worth starting. Sulforaphane shows a first noticeable change at about 4 weeks with full effect at 12, on a 12-week assessment window. Glutathione shows its first change at about 4 weeks too, but its report puts full effect out at 6 months, which is exactly the timescale Richie 2015 needed to raise body stores.

Start with sulforaphane when the target is metabolic or environmental: fasting glucose, triglycerides, or a real air-pollution exposure. Those are the rows it wins, and Egner 2014 and Axelsson 2017 are the results behind them.

Buy a product with active myrosinase, because Mastaloudis 2026 measured 39.8% bioavailability with it against 18.6% without, and track fasting glucose or hs-CRP for the full 12 weeks.

Move to glutathione when the target is a measured redox or immune marker rather than a metabolic one, and commit to 6 months at 1,000 mg a day in a sublingual or liposomal form.

Schmitt 2015 found plain oral glutathione did not shift the reduced-to-oxidised ratio while a sublingual form did. A four-week trial of plain capsules is the design that produced Allen 2011's null, so do not run it and conclude anything.

Stacking them is the most defensible combination on this page, and it is still untested. Sulforaphane drives NRF2 transcription of the enzymes that build glutathione, so supplying the finished molecule alongside is complementary rather than redundant. No trial in either report combined them. If you do it, add one at a time so you know which one moved the marker.

Who Should Pick What?

Dysregulated fasting glucose or early metabolic syndrome

Sulforaphane

Blood sugar 5.6 against 3.0. Axelsson 2017 found reduced hepatic glucose production with fasting glucose and HbA1c improving in the obese dysregulated subgroup of 97 patients. Buy a myrosinase-paired product, track fasting glucose for 12 weeks, and know that Dwibedi 2025 in prediabetes missed its threshold, so this works best when the dysregulation is real.

High air pollution exposure, urban or occupational

Sulforaphane

This is sulforaphane's strongest human result. Egner 2014 randomised 291 adults in Qidong to a broccoli sprout beverage and measured 61% higher urinary benzene conjugate excretion and 23% higher acrolein. That is phase 2 conjugation clearing pollutants, which is a narrower and more credible claim than general detox.

You want a measured immune or redox marker to move

Glutathione (GSH)

Immune 5.5 against 4.5. Richie 2015 is the one trial on this page with a dramatic number: 6 months at 1,000 mg a day, body stores up 30 to 35%, and natural-killer cytotoxicity more than doubled. Commit to the six months and a sublingual or liposomal form, or do not start.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease you are tracking with ALT

Glutathione (GSH)

Liver detox is a 6.0 tie on the scores, but the population evidence is glutathione's. Honda 2017 gave 34 NAFLD patients 300 mg a day for four months and ALT fell from 68.9 to 58.1. It was open-label and small, so treat it as a tracked experiment with labs before and after, not a treatment.

Buying plain oral glutathione capsules right now

Sulforaphane

Switch, or at least switch form. Witschi 1992 gave about 3 g of plain oral glutathione and plasma levels did not move over 270 minutes, and Allen 2011 found no biomarker change after 4 weeks at 500 mg twice daily. If you want to stay with glutathione, go sublingual or liposomal and commit to 6 months. Otherwise sulforaphane induces the same molecule for similar money.

Hoping to lighten skin

Tie

Neither, and the injectable route is dangerous. Weschawalit 2017 found the melanin index only trended lower without significance at 250 mg a day for 12 weeks, and Sitohang 2020 reviewed three RCTs and concluded glutathione is not beneficial enough with no lasting effect. The Philippine FDA advisory lists liver, kidney and nervous-system toxicity and Stevens-Johnson syndrome for injectable use.

COPD, pneumonia, or another inflammatory lung problem

Tie

Neither, and sulforaphane specifically has been tested and failed twice. Wise 2016 gave 89 COPD patients oral sulforaphane with no change in NQO1, HO-1, AKR1C1, AKR1C3, inflammation or lung function despite confirmed absorption. De Soyza 2024 gave 133 pneumonia patients 300 mg a day with no improvement in WHO clinical status.

Pregnant, breastfeeding, or in active cancer treatment

Tie

Neither without clinician involvement. Concentrated sulforaphane extracts are contraindicated in pregnancy and breastfeeding, and active cancer treatment needs oncology coordination because the phase 2 pathway intersects with drug metabolism. Glutathione lists pregnancy and breastfeeding as needing clinician guidance, plus sulfur or sulfite sensitivity.

Brassica allergy or untreated hypothyroidism with iodine deficiency

Glutathione (GSH)

Sulforaphane is off the table for a cruciferous allergy, and the goitrogen caution applies to untreated hypothyroidism with low iodine. Worth knowing the thyroid worry has been tested: Chartoumpekis 2019 ran 12 weeks of broccoli sprout beverage without altering TSH, free T4, thyroglobulin or thyroid autoimmunity.

Research Highlights

Mechanism Difference
These two sit at opposite ends of the same pathway, which is why calling them alternatives is slightly wrong. Sulforaphane adducts KEAP1 cysteines so NRF2 escapes degradation, enters the nucleus and drives transcription at antioxidant response elements, turning on phase 2 detoxication and antioxidant genes. Itoh 1997 and Itoh 1999 are the foundational mechanism.Glutathione is one of the products that pathway builds. Taken directly it acts as the cell's master thiol redox buffer, powering glutathione peroxidase and phase 2 conjugation and recycling vitamins C and E. One turns the factory up. The other delivers finished goods to the loading dock.
Delivery Problem
Both molecules fail in their cheapest form, for different reasons. Sulforaphane does not exist in the capsule: glucoraphanin has to be converted by myrosinase, and Shapiro 1998 showed that conversion depends on plant enzyme and gut flora. Mastaloudis 2026 measured 39.8% bioavailability with mustard-seed myrosinase against 18.6% without.Plain oral glutathione barely arrives at all. Witschi 1992 gave seven people about 3 g and plasma glutathione, cysteine and glutamate did not rise over 270 minutes. Schmitt 2015 found a sublingual form shifted the reduced-to-oxidised ratio while plain oral did not. Form is not a detail here, it is the intervention.
Cost Comparison
Sulforaphane runs $25 to $60 a month for a glucoraphanin plus myrosinase product at about 150 micromoles a day, extracted from the source report and priced 2026-09-08. Oral glutathione runs $20 to $45 a month at 1,000 mg a day, an estimate covering plain capsules at $20 to $30 and liposomal Setria at $32 to $45, priced 2026-09-07.The ranges overlap, so budget does not decide this. What the low end of each range buys is the version that failed in trials: sulforaphane without myrosinase, glutathione as plain capsules. Paying the top of the range is how you buy the preparation the evidence used.
Editorial Verdict
Sulforaphane scores 6.8 and glutathione 6.2, and the split is cleaner than the gap suggests. Sulforaphane wins blood sugar and cardiovascular, on Axelsson 2017 and Bahadoran 2012 in dysregulated populations. Glutathione wins antioxidant, immune function, energy and neuroprotection, mostly on Richie 2015.Liver detox, metabolic health and anti-inflammatory are honest ties. Sulforaphane's higher score is efficacy and evidence, 3.5 against 2.6 and 3.8 against 2.8, not a broader win list. Pick by target: metabolic and environmental go to sulforaphane, redox and immune markers to glutathione.
Safety Comparison
Both are benign taken orally. Sulforaphane scores 1.8 on safety risk and 2.2 on side effects, glutathione 1.6 and 1.7. Sulforaphane's exclusions are cruciferous allergy, concentrated extracts in pregnancy or breastfeeding, untreated hypothyroidism with iodine deficiency, and active cancer treatment without oncology coordination.Glutathione's real risk is not the capsule. Unregulated IV and injectable glutathione from wellness clinics is the one dangerous item on this page, and the Philippine FDA advisory names liver, kidney and nervous-system toxicity and Stevens-Johnson syndrome. Inhaled and nebulised forms are contraindicated in asthma and reactive airway disease.
What Did Not Work
Both reports carry clean negatives worth reading before you buy. Sulforaphane did not modulate NRF2 target genes in 89 COPD patients despite confirmed absorption (Wise 2016), and 300 mg a day did not improve WHO clinical status in 133 pneumonia patients (De Soyza 2024). Its prostate cancer phase 2 missed its endpoint (Alumkal 2015).Glutathione's failures cluster in Parkinson's disease. Hauser 2009 randomised 21 patients to IV glutathione for a 2.8-unit UPDRS difference that missed significance, and Mischley 2017 found neither intranasal arm beat placebo in 45 patients. The open-label series that started the enthusiasm (Sechi 1996) had nine people and no control arm.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it better to take glutathione or make more of it?: It depends what you want to move. Sulforaphane raises the transcription of the genes that build glutathione, and it scores 6.8 against glutathione's 6.2. But glutathione taken directly for 6 months raised body stores 30 to 35% and more than doubled natural-killer cytotoxicity in Richie 2015, which is a harder number than anything on the induction side.
Does oral glutathione even absorb?: In plain capsules, mostly no. Witschi 1992 gave about 3 g and plasma glutathione did not move over 270 minutes, and Allen 2011 found no biomarker change after 4 weeks. Two things fix it: time, since Richie 2015 needed 6 months to raise stores, and form, since Schmitt 2015 found a sublingual preparation shifted the reduced-to-oxidised ratio while plain oral did not.
Do I need a myrosinase product for sulforaphane?: Yes, or a pre-stabilised sulforaphane. Glucoraphanin is inert until myrosinase converts it, and Shapiro 1998 showed that conversion depends on the enzyme and your gut flora. Mastaloudis 2026 measured 39.8% bioavailability with mustard-seed myrosinase against 18.6% without. A glucoraphanin-only capsule is a bet on your microbiome.
Which one is better for the liver?: They tie at 6.0 and their evidence is different in kind. Glutathione has Honda 2017, an open-label pilot where 34 NAFLD patients dropped ALT from 68.9 to 58.1 over four months. Sulforaphane has Egner 2014, where 291 adults raised urinary benzene conjugate excretion 61%, which is phase 2 conjugation rather than a liver-disease endpoint.
Can I take sulforaphane and glutathione together?: Mechanistically it is the most sensible pairing on this page, and no trial has tested it. Sulforaphane drives NRF2 transcription of the enzymes that synthesise glutathione, so supplying the finished molecule alongside is complementary rather than duplicated. Add one at a time so you know which moved the marker.
Will glutathione lighten my skin?: The evidence says no and the injectable route is dangerous. Weschawalit 2017 found the melanin index only trended lower without reaching significance, and Sitohang 2020 reviewed three RCTs and concluded it is not beneficial enough with no lasting effect. The Philippine FDA advisory on injectable glutathione names liver, kidney and nervous-system toxicity and Stevens-Johnson syndrome.
Is sulforaphane bad for the thyroid?: The worry is reasonable and has been tested. Cruciferous goitrogens are why untreated hypothyroidism with iodine deficiency is on the contraindication list. Chartoumpekis 2019 ran 12 weeks of broccoli sprout beverage and found no change in TSH, free T4, thyroglobulin or thyroid autoimmunity. If your thyroid is treated and your iodine is adequate, this is not your problem.
How long before either one works?: Sulforaphane gives a first noticeable change at about 4 weeks with full effect at 12, on a 12-week window. Glutathione also starts at about 4 weeks but its report puts full effect at 6 months, which matches the Richie 2015 timeline. A four-week glutathione trial is the design that produced the null results, so do not run one and draw conclusions.

Evidence Sources

RCT Rapid and sustainable detoxication of airborne pollutants by broccoli sprout beverage in Qidong, China (2014) 291 adults. Urinary benzene conjugate excretion up 61%, acrolein up 23%.
RCT Sulforaphane reduces hepatic glucose production and improves glucose control in type 2 diabetes (2017) 97 patients. Fasting glucose and HbA1c improved in the obese dysregulated subgroup.
RCT Effect of broccoli sprout extract on glucose metabolism in prediabetes (2025) 74 participants. Missed the prespecified 0.3 mmol/L threshold. Responder subgroup about 0.4.
RCT Effect of broccoli sprouts on insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes (2012) 81 participants. Triglycerides and the oxidised LDL to LDL ratio improved over 4 weeks.
RCT Lack of effect of oral sulforaphane on NRF2 target gene expression in COPD (2016) 89 COPD patients. No change in NQO1, HO-1, AKR1C1, AKR1C3, inflammation or lung function despite absorption.
RCT Stabilized synthetic sulforaphane in community-acquired pneumonia (2024) 133 patients. 300 mg a day did not improve WHO clinical status or NRF2 target modulation.
Trial Mustard seed myrosinase doubles sulforaphane bioavailability from glucoraphanin extract (2026) 16-person crossover. 39.8% bioavailability with myrosinase against 18.6% without.
Trial Human metabolism and excretion of cancer chemoprotective glucosinolates and isothiocyanates (1998) Myrosinase and gut flora govern conversion of glucosinolates to isothiocyanate metabolites.
Mechanistic Keap1 represses nuclear activation of antioxidant responsive elements by Nrf2 (1999) Foundational KEAP1 and NRF2 mechanism.
RCT Effects of sulforaphane on processing speed and mood in healthy older adults (2022) 144 older adults. Improved processing speed and negative mood over 12 weeks, with HO-1, GST, TNF-alpha and BDNF unchanged.
Trial Broccoli sprout beverage is safe for thyroid hormonal and autoimmune status (2019) 12 weeks did not alter TSH, free T4, thyroglobulin or thyroid autoimmunity.
Trial A phase II study of sulforaphane-rich broccoli sprout extracts in men with recurrent prostate cancer (2015) 20 men. PSA doubling time 6.1 to 9.6 months. Did not meet the 50% PSA decline endpoint.
Trial The systemic availability of oral glutathione (1992) 7 people. About 3 g of oral glutathione did not raise plasma glutathione, cysteine or glutamate over 270 minutes.
RCT Randomized controlled trial of oral glutathione supplementation on body stores of glutathione (2015) 54 participants, 6 months at 1,000 mg a day. Body stores up 30 to 35%, natural-killer cytotoxicity more than doubled.
RCT Effects of oral glutathione supplementation on systemic oxidative stress biomarkers (2011) 40 participants, 500 mg twice daily for 4 weeks. No significant change in oxidative-stress biomarkers.
Trial Effects of N-acetylcysteine, oral glutathione and a sublingual glutathione on oxidative stress markers (2015) 20-person crossover. Plain oral glutathione did not raise the reduced-to-oxidised ratio. The sublingual form did.
Trial Oral supplementation with liposomal glutathione elevates body stores and markers of immune function (2018) Uncontrolled 12-person pilot. Liposomal glutathione raised blood stores and immune markers.
Trial Efficacy of glutathione for the treatment of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (2017) Open-label pilot, 34 patients. 300 mg a day for 4 months lowered ALT from 68.9 to 58.1 IU/L.
RCT Randomized, double-blind, pilot evaluation of intravenous glutathione in Parkinson's disease (2009) 21 patients. UPDRS improved only 2.8 units more than placebo, not significant.
RCT Phase IIb study of intranasal glutathione in Parkinson's disease (2017) 45 patients. Within-group UPDRS improved but neither active arm beat placebo.
RCT Glutathione and its antiaging and antimelanogenic effects (2017) 250 mg a day for 12 weeks. Melanin index only trended lower without significance. Reduced wrinkles was the one significant skin finding.
Review Systemic glutathione as a skin-whitening agent in adults (2020) Review of 3 RCTs. Not beneficial enough as a skin-whitening agent, with no long-lasting effect.
Regulatory Philippine FDA Advisory No. 2019-182, unsafe use of glutathione as a skin lightening agent (2019) No approved injectable glutathione for skin lightening. Risks include liver, kidney and nervous-system toxicity and Stevens-Johnson syndrome.

Glossary

Quick reference for the medical and technical terms used in this comparison.

NRF2 Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2: The transcription factor that switches on your antioxidant and detoxification genes. Sulforaphane's entire mechanism is freeing it to do that.
KEAP1 Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1: The protein that normally holds NRF2 down for destruction. Sulforaphane sticks to its cysteines so NRF2 escapes.
ARE Antioxidant Response Element: The DNA sequence NRF2 binds to turn on phase 2 detoxification and antioxidant genes.
GSH Reduced Glutathione: The active form of the cell's master antioxidant. A tripeptide of glutamate, cysteine and glycine.
Myrosinase The activating plant enzyme: Converts inert glucoraphanin into active sulforaphane. Without it you absorb roughly half as much (Mastaloudis 2026).
Phase 2 Phase II detoxification: The conjugation step where the liver attaches molecules to toxins so they can be excreted. What Egner 2014 measured in urine.
GST Glutathione-S-Transferase: The enzyme family that uses glutathione to conjugate toxins. The point where both molecules on this page meet.
NK cells Natural Killer cells: Immune cells that destroy infected and abnormal cells. Their cytotoxicity more than doubled in Richie 2015.
ALT Alanine Aminotransferase: The liver enzyme on a standard blood panel. The marker Honda 2017 moved with oral glutathione in fatty liver.

Nick Urban Health Optimization Researcher & CHEK Holistic Lifestyle Coach Level 2

I tried both broccoli sprouts and sulforaphane supplements and did not notice much, so I stopped

Reviewed Sep 8, 2026 · next review Dec 7, 2026

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