29 replies to this topic

[Brian Augustyniak]

Hello:

I'm new here.  I've been reading through the forum archives but I'm only at page 102 of 278....

I haven't seen anything on Acetyl Glutathione.  I'm blown away by the knowledge of most of you people, so I'll pose the question.

Acteyl-Glutathione seems very rare as a supplement.  The only manufacturer I can find is The Maplewood Company which I buy.

The few references I can find suggest Acetyl Glutathione is highly bioavailable and crosses the blood-brain barrier.

What do you all think?

Thank you.

[leha]

I think most people probably focus on making glutathione precursors available, since this has such a high success rate in increasing glutathione levels. The most common, I believe, is Acetylcysteine (NAC). It's also good (for this and other reasons) to ensure that your melatonin levels are up (CR does some of this, as does supplementing with 5-HTP in small morning doses), and to take small amounts of alpha-lipoic acid (unless it makes you itchy, like it does me).

S-adenosylmethionine and whey protein are two other supplements that can increase glutathione.

I've never heard of "Acetyl Glutathione," and am guessing what you're really looking for is NAC. NAC is very available and cheap, too.

Edited by leha, 30 August 2010 - 04:08 PM.

[Brian Augustyniak]

leha, on 30 August 2010 - 04:07 PM, said:

I think most people probably focus on making glutathione precursors available, since this has such a high success rate in increasing glutathione levels. The most common, I believe, is Acetylcysteine (NAC). It's also good (for this and other reasons) to ensure that your melatonin levels are up (CR does some of this, as does supplementing with 5-HTP in small morning doses), and to take small amounts of alpha-lipoic acid (unless it makes you itchy, like it does me).

S-adenosylmethionine and whey protein are two other supplements that can increase glutathione.

I've never heard of "Acetyl Glutathione," and am guessing what you're really looking for is NAC. NAC is very available and cheap, too.

Thank you.  I am familiar with NAC and all the precursors to Glutathione.  Acetyl Glutathione is manufactured by The Maplewood Company and I use it also.  But I can only find a few references as to it's bioavailability and bbb activity.  I'm not proficient with Pubmed yet but will check it there for any studies.

[John Barleycorn]

Is the concern here that glutathione doesn't make it past the digestive system, or possibly that it doesn't cross the BBB? The latter is news to me, but I must admit that I haven't really looked into it. I believe that NAC's antioxidant properties are used for brain repair, but I'm a bit hazy about the method of administration.

[leha]

The former was the issue--not well absorbed in the gut. Even at doses as high as 3g, apparently.

Brian, I did a cursory look around the Internet and the only references I could find to Acetyl Glutathione came directly from that Maplewood Company, so I suspect it's a name they made up. In fact, I could not find a reference on PubMed, either, and if it were a real substance (as defined by science) it would be there, for sure. So what you are taking is some proprietary formulation--probably a mix of NAC and glutathione, which is to say, only likely as effective as whatever quantity of NAC is in it.  

[Brian Augustyniak]

leha, on 03 September 2010 - 06:14 PM, said:

The former was the issue--not well absorbed in the gut. Even at doses as high as 3g, apparently.

Brian, I did a cursory look around the Internet and the only references I could find to Acetyl Glutathione came directly from that Maplewood Company, so I suspect it's a name they made up. In fact, I could not find a reference on PubMed, either, and if it were a real substance (as defined by science) it would be there, for sure. So what you are taking is some proprietary formulation--probably a mix of NAC and glutathione, which is to say, only likely as effective as whatever quantity of NAC is in it.  

Thank you very much.

The only place I can find to buy it is www.alchemistlab.com  Alchemist Lab is an excellent resource and sells some good products (they cater to Hep-C and Neurological issues).  I'll ask if they have any studies to review.....

[DukeNukem]

I'm bumping this thread because a lot more companies are now selling Acetyl Glutathione.

Here's are two pubmed entries for it:
http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/11743644
http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/14624358

Does it sound plausible that Acetyl Glutathione survives digestion and raises glutathione levels?

Edited by DukeNukem, 14 July 2012 - 09:51 PM.

[kevinseven11]

Perhaps this substance avoids all the problems NAC has?

[Logan]

I'm interested in this.  Hmmmm... Any research out there on it?

[GetMaxed]

I spent a couple hours doing some research on S-Acetyl-Glutathione last week and posted up a quick overview and comparison on my blog at http://www.getmaxed....tyl-glutathione
I need to do the math to work out what percentage of Cysteine is in RiboCeine and S-Acetyl-Glutathione to better compare the weights/costs.

[Logic]

You may be interested in this RiboCeine thread:
http://www.longecity...758#entry526758

[curious_sle]

Have a look at this... http://www.nleducati...-to-iv-therapy/ not too damn shaby...

"

The most significant marker, considered a gold standard, was F2-isoprostane and this was significantly more reduced by oral Acetylglutathione than with the IV glutathione.

"

If you get anywhere close to is it well worth the money even now...

Edited by curious_sle, 19 August 2012 - 09:44 AM.

[Joel]

How does this compare to liposomal glutathione? From what I've read it seems the liposomal version actually gets absorbed as well.

[GetMaxed]

Liposomal glutathione helps it survive the digestive tract, but it has the same problem as intravenous GSH in that in can't enter most cells in your body to raise intra-cellular levels.

Supplements with cysteine dervatives (eg NAC and RibCys) can enter the cell and be used for intra-cellular glutathione synthesis.

Acetyl-Glutathione seem pretty nice in that it is a form of the whole glutathione molecule that can pass intact into the cell.  Will be interesting to see more research on this one.

Edited by GetMaxed, 26 August 2012 - 03:20 PM.

[RJ100]

kevinseven11, on 15 July 2012 - 04:31 PM, said:

Perhaps this substance avoids all the problems NAC has?

What problems are those? I've been taking NAC for months and haven't noticed anything.

[GetMaxed]

RJ100, on 27 August 2012 - 07:46 PM, said:

kevinseven11, on 15 July 2012 - 04:31 PM, said:

Perhaps this substance avoids all the problems NAC has?

What problems are those? I've been taking NAC for months and haven't noticed anything.

To quote the article “Prodrug Approach for Increasing Cellular Glutathione Levels” published in Molecules in 2010 titled (link), it said of NAC:

Quote

Its use, however, has been limited by several drawbacks, including low membrane penetration and low systemic bioavailability

No negative problems per se, just that it's far from the ideal solution to raising glutathione.  Of all the other cysteine and glutathione compounds mentioned in the Molecules article that have been developed to be superior to NAC, RIbose-Cysteine and Acetyl-Glutathione are only two which are commercially available as far as I know.

[izan82]

does anybody know where i can find bulk s-acetyl-glutathione?  this is one powerful substance, it blows liposomal glutathione and glutathione by injection out of the water. i took it for two months and my skin was glowing beyond belief. i felt strong, braing fog lifted within two days. increase in stamina. felt as if my working memory improved.  the only problem is the price. so darn expensive. any suggestions?

[zorba990]

Ask purebulk to carry it.

[zorba990]

GetMaxed, on 26 August 2012 - 03:16 PM, said:

Liposomal glutathione helps it survive the digestive tract, but it has the same problem as intravenous GSH in that in can't enter most cells in your body to raise intra-cellular levels.

Supplements with cysteine dervatives (eg NAC and RibCys) can enter the cell and be used for intra-cellular glutathione synthesis.

Acetyl-Glutathione seem pretty nice in that it is a form of the whole glutathione molecule that can pass intact into the cell.  Will be interesting to see more research on this one.

Liposomal seems to work  http://www.ncbi.nlm....ubmed/20535554/
Any studies to support that acetyl form works better?

Edited by zorba990, 07 May 2013 - 03:26 PM.

[izan82]

zorba990, on 07 May 2013 - 03:24 PM, said:

GetMaxed, on 26 August 2012 - 03:16 PM, said:

Liposomal glutathione helps it survive the digestive tract, but it has the same problem as intravenous GSH in that in can't enter most cells in your body to raise intra-cellular levels.

Supplements with cysteine dervatives (eg NAC and RibCys) can enter the cell and be used for intra-cellular glutathione synthesis.

Acetyl-Glutathione seem pretty nice in that it is a form of the whole glutathione molecule that can pass intact into the cell.  Will be interesting to see more research on this one.

Liposomal seems to work  http://www.ncbi.nlm....ubmed/20535554/
Any studies to support that acetyl form works better?

nope, just personal experience.

[cuprous]

kevinseven11, on 15 July 2012 - 04:31 PM, said:

Perhaps this substance avoids all the problems NAC has?

I realize I'm replying to a very old post but I need to question what "all the problems" of NAC are.  I'm aware of none other than a rat study regarding pulmonary hypertension which has been largely dismissed AFAIK as far as human concerns go.

[niner]

zorba990, on 07 May 2013 - 03:24 PM, said:

GetMaxed, on 26 August 2012 - 03:16 PM, said:

Liposomal glutathione helps it survive the digestive tract, but it has the same problem as intravenous GSH in that in can't enter most cells in your body to raise intra-cellular levels.

Liposomal seems to work  http://www.ncbi.nlm....ubmed/20535554/
Any studies to support that acetyl form works better?

That paper is in vitro- is there anything looking at efficacy in humans?  Or animals?  GetMaxed says it survives the GI tract, but didn't provide any evidence.  The in vitro work suggests that it does penetrate the cell wall, but we don't know if it would hang around long enough, in high enough concentration, to do the same thing in humans.

[GetMaxed]

niner, on 08 May 2013 - 02:49 AM, said:

zorba990, on 07 May 2013 - 03:24 PM, said:

GetMaxed, on 26 August 2012 - 03:16 PM, said:

Liposomal glutathione helps it survive the digestive tract, but it has the same problem as intravenous GSH in that in can't enter most cells in your body to raise intra-cellular levels.

Liposomal seems to work  http://www.ncbi.nlm....ubmed/20535554/
Any studies to support that acetyl form works better?

That paper is in vitro- is there anything looking at efficacy in humans?  Or animals?  GetMaxed says it survives the GI tract, but didn't provide any evidence.  The in vitro work suggests that it does penetrate the cell wall, but we don't know if it would hang around long enough, in high enough concentration, to do the same thing in humans.

I haven't seen any human studies on lipsomal GSH, I remember there being a rabbit in vivo study.

> GetMaxed says it survives the GI tract, but didn't provide any evidence
Thats just a general properties of liposomal delivery systems, nothing specific to glutathione.

I had the impression that the in-vitro works says it doesn't penetrate the cell wall, but has be broken down to the aminos, then transported into the cell and synthesized.
"Blocking γ-glutamylcysteine synthetase with buthionine sulfoxamine prevented replenishment with liposomal-GSH demonstrating the requirement for catabolism and resynthesis."
But it's odd then that there was such a difference with normal glutathione, as the same should be able to happen with that, so not sure what's happening there.

Also in that link article said
"In mixed neuronal/glial cultures depleted of intracellular GSH"
from what I've been researching restoring levels when they are already low, below that of homeostatic levels, isn't as relevant, even NAC will do the job then.
For what we're interested in, getting that extra extension in health/lifespan, there's a other factors that are at play too.  Lately I've been looking into the epigenetic changes which downregulate the expression of Nrf2 and all the glutathione enzymes.  I should finish up my article I've been writing on it...

But getting back on topic it would be good to see some more studies with SAG, especially comparing with liposomal, RibCys and NAC.

[zorba990]

This is the cheapest I found.  About $20 cheaper than iHerb but iHerb has been raising prices for a while...

http://www.pureformu...h.p9uaUaTf.dpbs

Maybe nutricology would sponsor some logs here...

[niner]

zorba990, on 10 May 2013 - 12:37 AM, said:

This is the cheapest I found.  About $20 cheaper than iHerb but iHerb has been raising prices for a while...

http://www.pureformu...h.p9uaUaTf.dpbs

Maybe nutricology would sponsor some logs here...

Good find- thanks, zorba.  The exact same thing at Swanson was $72, and pure formulations even had free shipping!  I've been interested in trying this, so I bought a bottle to check it out.

[izan82]

zorba990, on 10 May 2013 - 12:37 AM, said:

This is the cheapest I found.  About $20 cheaper than iHerb but iHerb has been raising prices for a while...

http://www.pureformu...h.p9uaUaTf.dpbs

Maybe nutricology would sponsor some logs here...

SAG from the maple wood company is being sold on ebay for 74 dollars/bottle. 119 if you buy two. 60 capsules a 300 mg= 18 grams of SAG. the one you mentioned only has 100 mg/capsule, 6 grams in total. so for 1.5 times the price, you will be getting 3 times more SAG if you would buy the maple wood company brand. maple wood wins.

[blueinfinity]

izan82, on 07 May 2013 - 12:11 PM, said:

does anybody know where i can find bulk s-acetyl-glutathione?  this is one powerful substance, it blows liposomal glutathione and glutathione by injection out of the water. i took it for two months and my skin was glowing beyond belief. i felt strong, braing fog lifted within two days. increase in stamina. felt as if my working memory improved.  the only problem is the price. so darn expensive. any suggestions?

Ive heard similar experiences from others as well

are they any pros and cons of one form of glutathione over another?

and have you found a great costing, reputable source for SAG yet?

Edited by blueinfinity, 12 May 2013 - 06:52 PM.

[ta5]

izan82, on 07 May 2013 - 12:11 PM, said:

i took it for two months and my skin was glowing beyond belief. i felt strong, braing fog lifted within two days. increase in stamina. felt as if my working memory improved.

How much did you take?

[DorianGrey]

I am familiar with NAC and use it against inflammation (colds) - but what would be the advantage of taking S-Acetyl Glutathione?

[daouda]

Yeah, the maplewood SAG at 300mg per cap is by far the best deal around (much cheaper than the nutricology product) but still so expensive, probably because SAG is a PATENTED product -  so we won't be able to find any cheaper deal for a good while, unless the indian or some gray market chinese company start producing it