Glutathione
γ-Glu-Cys-Gly tripeptide
- Injection
- Oral
- Nasal spray
- Suppository
- Gel or cream
Injection · Oral · Nasal spray — daily by mouth, or injections one to several times a week.
Glutathione is a peptide of three amino acids, glutamate, cysteine and glycine, that almost every cell in the body makes. It is the cell’s main small-molecule antioxidant: it neutralizes reactive oxygen species, it is a cofactor for enzymes that break down peroxides, and the liver uses it to clear toxic compounds, including the harmful metabolite of acetaminophen.
It also slows production of the dark pigment melanin, which is why it is marketed for skin brightening.
What it does inside your cells is well established. Whether taking it from outside does anything useful is a different question, and the answer depends on how you take it.
Who it's for (or who should avoid)
What it's aimed at
Telehealth sellers market glutathione for:
- Antioxidant and “detox” support, the most common claim, with no outcome trial behind it
- Skin brightening, where the one placebo-controlled IV trial missed statistical significance and had serious side effects
- Energy and healthy aging, sold alongside NAD+ on the same longevity menus
Who should avoid it
- People with asthma, especially with any inhaled or sprayed form: nebulized glutathione caused marked airway narrowing in a small trial
- Anyone on platinum chemotherapy, such as cisplatin, without their oncologist’s agreement
- People with liver problems considering injections: in the IV skin trial, treatment was stopped in eight women for abnormal liver tests
- Anyone pregnant or breastfeeding: there are no trials
Route, dose and course
Three forms are sold, and they behave very differently:
- Capsules: a single dose barely reaches the blood, because the gut breaks glutathione down. Taken daily, it is the one form with a solid trial: 1,000 mg a day for six months raised glutathione by about a third in blood cells and plasma.
- Injection: into a muscle or under the skin at home, or by IV drip at a clinic. Sellers rarely publish the dose; Rx Peps Direct lists 100 mg per injection (checked 16 October 2026). Injections skip the gut, but no controlled trial has shown a health benefit from them.
- Nasal spray: reaches the brain, shown in a study of people with Parkinson’s disease, but in the one controlled efficacy trial it did no better than saline.
On sourcing: in 2026 the FDA and CDC traced a cluster of illnesses to glutathione injections compounded from supplement-grade ingredient, which can carry bacterial toxins. Ask the seller which pharmacy makes the product and whether the ingredient is pharmaceutical grade.
The full evidence, route by route and with sources, is on our hub’s glutathione page.
Stage by stage
Read this first. Timelines come from the one six-month oral trial; nobody has run a comparable trial for injections or nasal spray. Changes are in blood levels, not in how people feel.
The only timeline with data behind it comes from the six-month oral trial: blood levels up within the first month, a larger rise by six months, and a return to baseline within a month of stopping. That is a change in a lab value, not something the trial showed people could feel. The arc below follows that trial:
- MONTH 1Blood levels riseIn the oral trial, glutathione in blood was already higher at the first check, one month in. Source: Richie 2015, Eur J Nutr (checked Oct 17, 2026)
- MONTH 3–6Larger rise, still a lab numberBy six months the high dose had raised levels by about a third in blood cells and plasma. The trial measured biomarkers, not health outcomes. Source: Richie 2015 (checked Oct 17, 2026)
- AFTER STOPPINGBack to baselineWithin a month of stopping, levels fell back to where they started. Source: Richie 2015 (checked Oct 17, 2026)
Available · from about $66/mo
Every headline price in this market excludes something. These are normalized to a calendar month, cheapest first, with the exclusion spelled out — the published figure is the footnote under it. Monthly figures here run from about $66 to $162. We may earn a commission when you purchase from some of the partners listed here, at no extra cost to you.
| Provider | From, per month | What that figure excludes | Coverage | Their own site |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ProvnRxCompounded storefront, launched April 2026 | $66read 2026-11-04 | The $66 rate needs the 3-month plan; month to month it is $99. | A named list | Go to site |
| MadeMedCompounded, billed every 30, 90 or 360 days | $71read 2026-11-04 | A $20 consultation fee ($30 by video). The lower rates need paying 90 or 360 days at once. | A named list | Go to site |
| TeleZenMDWidest peptide menu | $83read 2026-11-07 | The lower rates need paying up to a year in advance; month to month it is $158. The per-month figures the page prints beside its longer plans do not match their totals. | All 50, stated | Go to site |
| Live VitalPhysician-led, monthly pricing, Draper UT | $95read 2026-11-04 | The treatments page gives no dose, route or vial size; sold as a 2-month subscription, $189 every 2 months. | All 50, stated | Go to site |
| AgelessRxLongevity prescribing, runs its own trials | $99read 2026-11-04 | The month-to-month price, which the page does not state. A glutathione patch kit is a separate product at $180. | All 50, stated | Go to site |
| Hone HealthMembership telehealth for hormones and longevity | $99read 2026-11-04 | Route and strength, which are not published on the longevity page. | Not published | Go to site |
| New Blue HealthPeptide, GLP-1 and hormone telehealth | $99read 2026-11-04 | Strength, which is not published; no 1-month plan is shown. | All but some, named | Go to site |
| BiltRxPerformance telehealth, Houston TX (formerly DietDoc) | $162read 2026-11-10 | The $50 consult fee, billed once per 12 weeks, and shipping. A nasal spray is listed from $129 a month. | All 50, stated | Go to site |
| Defy MedicalTampa clinic, physician-led | $49 per vialread 2026-11-11 | The consultation. Their store shows prices only to signed-in patients; these are the figures in the product page data. A 30 mL vial is a separate product, $92 from Hallandale or Empower. | Not published | Go to site |
| Lavender Sky HealthTwelve named pharmacies, priced per vial | $105 per vialread 2026-11-04 | The consultation fees. The price list gives no concentration. | All 50, stated | Go to site |
Will it work where you live?
Most sellers claim all fifty states or publish nothing about coverage; a few name the states they serve or the ones they exclude, and the Coverage column says which. Either way it is the seller's own claim, so we can't filter this list by state without inventing a fact. What we can tell you is which state-level rules decide access: telehealth rules, non-resident pharmacy licensing, and who is allowed to prescribe.
Prices and providers change. We keep track.
Questions we get about Glutathione
Is glutathione FDA-approved?
No. There is no FDA-approved glutathione drug. Capsules are sold as dietary supplements. Injections and nasal sprays are compounded by pharmacies; glutathione is in Category 1, under evaluation, of the FDA's lists of substances nominated for compounding, which means the FDA has not yet decided whether to add it to the final lists.
Do I need a prescription?
For capsules, no: they are sold as supplements. For injections and nasal spray from the sellers on this page, yes: a licensed clinician reviews an online intake and writes the prescription, and a compounding pharmacy ships the product.
How much does it cost?
In the price table on this page, monthly figures run from about $66 to $162, read between November 4, 2026 and November 10, 2026. Some sellers price it per vial or unit instead, shown in the same table. Lower monthly rates usually need a longer plan paid up front, and some sellers add consultation fees; each row in the table says what its figure needs. On 9 October 2026 Invigor Medical listed injections 'starting at $155' without saying for what period, so it is not in the table. Insurance does not cover compounded glutathione.
How the bill breaks downAre glutathione injections safe?
In August and September 2026 the FDA and CDC reported more than 25 people sick in at least four states after glutathione injections made from supplement-grade ingredients, including after shots into a muscle or under the skin; at least three were hospitalized, and three Texas pharmacies recalled product. Before you start, ask the seller which pharmacy compounds it and whether the glutathione is pharmaceutical grade.
Do injections work better than capsules?
Nobody has shown that. The best trial is of daily capsules, which raised glutathione in blood over six months. A single capsule barely reaches the blood, and the controlled trials of IV and nasal glutathione that measured outcomes found no difference from placebo.
Who should avoid it?
People with asthma, especially with any inhaled or sprayed form; anyone on platinum chemotherapy without their oncologist's agreement; people with liver problems considering injections; and anyone pregnant or breastfeeding, since there are no trials.
We publish no medical reviewer by design. Every claim on this page traces to a source we hold on file, and the reviewed write-up with those citations lives on our hub. Read the full research on PeptideWellness ↗
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