[Glutathione Efficacy] 3 Benefits of Glutathione, the main ingredient of white jade injection

Hello. I am a pharmacist who reads papers.

The skin whitening treatment that is currently attracting the most attention is definitely white jade injection. Glutathione, which has a strong antioxidant effect, is administered directly into the body by intravenous injection, and it helps whiten the skin by inhibiting the synthesis of melanin pigment that darkens the skin, and it is an anti-aging treatment that removes free radicals and toxins in cells that reduce skin elasticity and cause wrinkles.

However, some people are reluctant to choose white jade injections as a routine management method due to the burden of having to visit the hospital every time for the procedure or the fear of having to insert a needle into a vein. For these people, oral glutathione may be a good alternative.

So, let's find out from now on whether glutathione can really have the same skin-beautifying effect as white jade injection even if it is taken orally through the papers reported in the academic community.

It is generally believed that if there is a lot of melanin pigment, the skin will darken. In fact, our skin color is determined by the formation and accumulation of melanin pigment. However, not all melanin pigments darken the skin. Melanin pigment is divided into two types: eumelanin, which has a dark brown color, and pheomelanin, which has bright colors such as red and yellow. When eumelanin is increased in our skin, the skin color becomes darker and darker, and when there is more pheomelanin, it becomes brighter and brighter. Therefore, in order to make your skin white and brighter, it's important to reduce eumelanin levels and increase pheomeranin.

In academia, studies have been published continuously showing that glutathione regulates the melanin index. In fact, based on the fact that glutathione is found in lighter skin than darker skin, a Korean study was published in the SCI-level international journal Antioxidants, which showed that glutathione inhibits eumelanin synthesis and helps in the synthesis of pheomelanin, and that as the level of glutathione in the body increases, the level of pheomelanin is relatively high, resulting in a brighter skin tone [1].

Our findings confirm that glutathione has a skin-lightening effect by affecting the melanin index. 

The phenomenon of decreased skin elasticity and the appearance of wrinkles is called skin aging. The causative agent of skin aging is free radicals. Free radicals can occur during the normal metabolic process of the human body, or they can be caused by photochemical reactions that occur in the skin exposed to ultraviolet rays.

The active oxygen produced in this way promotes the breakdown of collagen and elastin, which maintain the elasticity of the skin in the dermis layer of the skin, and inhibits their synthesis, causing the skin to lose elasticity and wrinkles.

Glutathione is a powerful antioxidant that scavenges free radicals from the body and inhibits skin aging. In a 2017 study published in the international journal Cosmetic and investigational dermatology, 60 healthy adult female participants who took glutathione for 12 weeks reported an improvement in the appearance of wrinkles and increased elasticity of facial skin [3].

"A significant reduction in wrinkles was observed in the glutathione group compared to the placebo group, and an increase in skin elasticity was observed in both."

3.Fibroblast function recovery

Fibroblasts exist in the skin layer and play a role in maintaining healthy skin by creating skin tissues such as collagen and elastic fibers that maintain skin elasticity. However, when the function of fibroblasts is impaired due to internal aging, overexposure to ultraviolet rays, or diseases, the productivity decreases, and on the contrary, it produces a large amount of free radicals and secretes SASP, a substance that accelerates the aging of the surrounding normal fibroblasts [4].

Therefore, in order to maintain skin health, it is necessary to restore the function of damaged fibroblasts to normal. In 2005, a paper was published in the British Journal of Dermatology, which examined the effect of glutathione on fibroblast function recovery in the cells of patients with impaired fibroblast function. The researchers reported that glutathione can restore the weakened function of fibroblasts [5].

"Studies have shown that glutathione injected into cells can restore the function of skin cells, such as fibroblasts, which are damaged by high blood sugar."

So far, we have learned about the effects that can be expected when oral intake of glutathione, the main ingredient of white jade injections. Glutathione is one of the leading ingredients in anti-aging, so it plays an important role in skin health, making the skin brighter, improving skin elasticity, and reducing wrinkles. In addition, it produces collagen and elastic fibers to restore fibroblasts, which maintain skin elasticity, so that they can function properly again even if they are damaged.

You may be worried about the side effects of taking glutathione. Glutathione is a proven ingredient for stability. In particular, it has received a GRAS rating from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which is known to evaluate the safety of food ingredients among the most stringent in the world, as it is generally safe for human consumption, so it can be consumed without much concern about side effects.

I hope you have a healthy day in body and mind. It was Jinny.

[1] Boo Y. C. (2022). Metabolic Basis and Clinical Evidence for Skin Lightening Effects of Thiol Compounds. Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland), 11(3), 503.

[2] Arjinpathana, N., & Asawanonda, P. (2012). Glutathione as an oral whitening agent: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. The Journal of dermatological treatment, 23(2), 97–102.

[3] Weschawalit, S., Thongthip, S., Phutrakool, P., & Asawanonda, P. (2017). Glutathione and its antiaging and antimelanogenic effects. Clinical, Cosmetic and investigational dermatology, 10, 147.

[4] Zorina, A., Zorin, V., Kudlay, D., & Kopnin, P. (2022). Age-Related Changes in the Fibroblastic Differon of the Dermis: Role in Skin Aging. International journal of molecular sciences, 23(11), 6135.

[5] Deveci, M., Gilmont, R. R., Dunham, W. R., Mudge, B. P., Smith, D. J., & Marcelo, C. L. (2005). Glutathione enhances fibroblast collagen contraction and protects keratinocytes from apoptosis in hyperglycaemic culture. The British journal of dermatology, 152(2), 217–224.