Glutathione

Does glutathione help the liver?

Updated 10 Nov 2026

Short answer

The evidence is thin. In one small study without a placebo group, 29 people with fatty liver took 300 mg a day for 4 months, and their liver enzyme ALT fell.[1] In a trial in hepatitis B, glutathione into a vein, added to an antiviral medicine, improved liver tests more than the antiviral alone.[2]

Fatty liver

In a Japanese pilot study, 34 people with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease first changed their diet and exercise for 3 months. Then they took 300 mg of glutathione a day for 4 months. 29 of them finished.[1]

  • ALT, a liver enzyme that rises when liver cells are damaged, fell significantly.[1]
  • Triglycerides, free fatty acids and ferritin in the blood also fell.[1]
  • The usual (median) fall in ALT was 12.9%.[1]
  • People whose ALT fell more were younger and did not have severe diabetes. In them, a scan measure of liver fat also fell.[1]

The study had one group and no placebo, and everyone knew what they took. It was the first study of glutathione by mouth in fatty liver disease, and the authors wrote that large trials are needed.[1] No trial in PubMed has compared glutathione by mouth with placebo in fatty liver disease.

Hepatitis B

In a 2025 trial in China, 90 people with chronic hepatitis B took the antiviral medicine entecavir. Half of them also got glutathione into a vein:[2]

  • ALT fell from about 349 to 31 U/L with glutathione, and to 57 U/L without it.[2]
  • Bilirubin fell from about 62 to 19 µmol/L with glutathione, and to 27 µmol/L without it.[2]
  • Blood markers of liver scarring fell more, and the grade of liver scarring improved more, with glutathione.[2]
  • At 48 weeks, the virus could no longer be found in the blood in 69% of the glutathione group and in 42% of the other group.[2]
  • Side effects occurred in 9% of the glutathione group and in 20% of the other group. This difference was not statistically significant.[2]

This trial used glutathione into a vein, not capsules.[2] Glutathione into a vein has also been used to treat acute poisoning and long-term liver disease.[1]

Why it may help

Glutathione takes part in detoxification and in the antioxidant defence of cells.[3] Problems with how cells make glutathione play a part in some diseases, including a liver injury caused by blocked bile flow (cholestatic liver injury).[3]

Glutathione taken by mouth

Swallowed glutathione meets an enzyme in the gut and the liver, gamma-glutamyltransferase, that splits it into its amino acids.[4] Still, 1,000 mg a day for 6 months raised glutathione in the blood of healthy adults.[5] A 2026 review noted that clinical studies of glutathione often struggle with low absorption and fast breakdown by enzymes.[6]

Sources (6)

  1. Efficacy of glutathione for the treatment of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: an open-label, single-arm, multicenter, pilot study. Honda Y, Kessoku T, Sumida Y, Kobayashi T, Kato T, Ogawa Y, et al. BMC Gastroenterol, 2017. PMID 28789631
  2. Therapeutic effects of reduced glutathione on liver function, fibrosis, and HBV DNA clearance in chronic hepatitis B patients. Wei Q, Zhao J BMC Gastroenterol, 2025. PMID 39920583
  3. Regulation of glutathione synthesis. Lu SC Mol Aspects Med, 2009. PMID 18601945
  4. The systemic availability of oral glutathione. Witschi A, Reddy S, Stofer B, Lauterburg BH Eur J Clin Pharmacol, 1992. PMID 1362956
  5. Randomized controlled trial of oral glutathione supplementation on body stores of glutathione. Richie JP Jr, Nichenametla S, Neidig W, Calcagnotto A, Haley JS, Schell TD, et al. Eur J Nutr, 2015. PMID 24791752
  6. Glutathione in redox homeostasis: Bridging molecular mechanisms, bioavailability constraints, and translational challenges in systemic therapeutics. Carnib BL, Matos ERSB, Lage TM, Pedro IDR, Ecclissato MCD, Teixeira RL, et al. Biomed Pharmacother, 2026. PMID 42585816

More about glutathione

What is glutathione?Is glutathione absorbed when taken by mouth?Does glutathione work?Do glutathione levels fall with age?Is glutathione safe?Does glutathione lighten skin?

For education; not medical advice. Talk to a doctor before you start, stop or change a supplement.