Glutathione Reconstitution Calculator
Glutathione has published human doses, and nearly every one of them comes from a hospital protocol rather than from the reason people buy it. The record behind this page carries figures for four routes, oral, intranasal, intravenous and intramuscular, drawn from trials in healthy adults, in skin lightening, in Parkinson's disease, in cisplatin chemotherapy and in heart attack. They differ by route by roughly ten times, and a dose established for one route does not license another. Topical glutathione is a real route but is studied as a concentration in a vehicle rather than as a mass, so no topical range is recorded. Subcutaneous glutathione is not in this record at any dose. The calculator below converts a vial size and a mixing volume into mg/ml and U-100 syringe units, which is arithmetic about a vial rather than a recommendation about what to inject.
Curated by Dosavy from published literature and regulator labels. Published 11 September 2026, last reviewed 11 September 2026. No clinician reviews this page.
Enter a target dose above to see the draw.
What the evidence says
| Experience | Route | Range | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intermediate | Oral | 250–1000 mg[1][2][3]The span of daily oral doses tested in controlled human trials, not a titration. A 6-month randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in 54 healthy non-smoking adults compared 250 mg/day with 1000 mg/day and found dose- and time-dependent increases in body glutathione stores at both, returning to baseline after a 1-month washout. Separately, five randomised trials and one open-arm study of oral glutathione at 250 mg once daily, 250 mg twice daily and 500 mg once daily reported significant reductions in melanin index versus placebo for skin lightening, although the reviewers rated the evidence inconsistent and of mixed quality. | Once daily |
| Intermediate | Intranasal | 300–600 mg[4]The only intranasal human dosing data in this corpus: a randomised, double-blind phase I/IIa study in 30 people with Parkinson's disease, randomised to placebo, 300 mg/day or 600 mg/day of intranasal reduced glutathione in three divided daily doses for 3 months. This was a SAFETY and TOLERABILITY study: both doses were tolerated with no substantial difference in adverse events, and the authors state that pharmacokinetic and dose-finding studies are still warranted. It establishes that these doses were given and tolerated, not that they work. | Total daily dose, given as three divided intranasal doses |
| Intermediate | Intravenous | 600–2500 mg[5][6][7]The range spans two very different protocols in two very different populations, and neither generalises to a wellness infusion. Low end: 600 mg IV twice daily for 30 days in nine patients with early, untreated Parkinson's disease: open-label, no control group, 42% reported decline in disability. High end: 2500 mg in 25 mL infused over 10 minutes immediately before primary angioplasty for STEMI and repeated at 24, 48 and 72 hours, in a randomised pilot of 50 patients, which reduced markers of oxidative stress. Oncology protocols in this corpus dose by body surface area instead (1.5 g/m2 IV before cisplatin, or 1500 mg/m2 before oxaliplatin), which the schema's unit enum cannot express. | Once to twice daily by intravenous infusion, per the trial protocol |
| Intermediate | Intramuscular | 600 mg[7]The intramuscular arm of the cisplatin neuroprotection trial: after the intravenous 1.5 g/m2 loading dose given immediately before cisplatin, patients received 600 mg by intramuscular injection on days 2 to 5. This is a chemotherapy-adjunct schedule in patients with advanced gastric cancer; it is the only intramuscular human dosing figure in this corpus and carries no standalone indication. | Once daily on days 2 to 5 of each treatment week |
- IntermediateOral
Once daily
The span of daily oral doses tested in controlled human trials, not a titration. A 6-month randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in 54 healthy non-smoking adults compared 250 mg/day with 1000 mg/day and found dose- and time-dependent increases in body glutathione stores at both, returning to baseline after a 1-month washout. Separately, five randomised trials and one open-arm study of oral glutathione at 250 mg once daily, 250 mg twice daily and 500 mg once daily reported significant reductions in melanin index versus placebo for skin lightening, although the reviewers rated the evidence inconsistent and of mixed quality.
- IntermediateIntranasal
300–600 mg[4]
Total daily dose, given as three divided intranasal doses
The only intranasal human dosing data in this corpus: a randomised, double-blind phase I/IIa study in 30 people with Parkinson's disease, randomised to placebo, 300 mg/day or 600 mg/day of intranasal reduced glutathione in three divided daily doses for 3 months. This was a SAFETY and TOLERABILITY study: both doses were tolerated with no substantial difference in adverse events, and the authors state that pharmacokinetic and dose-finding studies are still warranted. It establishes that these doses were given and tolerated, not that they work.
- IntermediateIntravenous
Once to twice daily by intravenous infusion, per the trial protocol
The range spans two very different protocols in two very different populations, and neither generalises to a wellness infusion. Low end: 600 mg IV twice daily for 30 days in nine patients with early, untreated Parkinson's disease: open-label, no control group, 42% reported decline in disability. High end: 2500 mg in 25 mL infused over 10 minutes immediately before primary angioplasty for STEMI and repeated at 24, 48 and 72 hours, in a randomised pilot of 50 patients, which reduced markers of oxidative stress. Oncology protocols in this corpus dose by body surface area instead (1.5 g/m2 IV before cisplatin, or 1500 mg/m2 before oxaliplatin), which the schema's unit enum cannot express.
- IntermediateIntramuscular
600 mg[7]
Once daily on days 2 to 5 of each treatment week
The intramuscular arm of the cisplatin neuroprotection trial: after the intravenous 1.5 g/m2 loading dose given immediately before cisplatin, patients received 600 mg by intramuscular injection on days 2 to 5. This is a chemotherapy-adjunct schedule in patients with advanced gastric cancer; it is the only intramuscular human dosing figure in this corpus and carries no standalone indication.
Published ranges, reported as the literature states them and numbered to the sources at the foot of this page. Not a recommendation.
Human dosing figures exist for four routes but they come from unrelated indications, and the doses differ by route by roughly 10x. Oral supplementation data comes from healthy adults and from cosmetic skin-lightening trials; intranasal comes from a single Parkinson's safety study; intravenous and intramuscular come from oncology, cardiology, nephrology and Parkinson's protocols. A dose established for one of these does not license another. Topical glutathione is studied by concentration (0.5%-2%), not by mass, so no topical range is recorded even though the route is real.
Glutathione at a glance
- Category
- Longevity
- Half-life
- Not established
- Routes
- Oral, Intramuscular, Intranasal, Topical, Other
- Regulatory status
- Not approved
- Also sold as
- Glutathione, glutathione, reduced glutathione, GSH, L-glutathione
Mechanism
Glutathione is an endogenous tripeptide (gamma-glutamyl-cysteinyl-glycine) and the most abundant intracellular antioxidant. It scavenges reactive oxygen species directly, serves as the cofactor for glutathione peroxidases and glutathione S-transferases in phase II conjugation, and cycles between reduced (GSH) and oxidised (GSSG) forms, the GSH/GSSG ratio being a standard index of cellular redox state. It also has anti-melanogenic activity, which is the basis of its cosmetic use as a skin-lightening agent. Oral bioavailability is the central problem with supplementing it: intact glutathione is extensively degraded in the gut, and a comparative crossover trial found a sublingual form raised plasma GSH and the GSH/GSSG ratio significantly more than the same oral dose (PMID 26262996).
Reconstitution
Compounded injectable glutathione may be supplied either as a solution or as a lyophilised powder for reconstitution, depending on the pharmacy; there is no label to follow, so the dispensing pharmacy's directions are the only source. The trial protocols cited here diluted the dose in normal saline (1.5 g/m2 in 100 mL) or infused it as 2500 mg in 25 mL over 10 minutes.
Storage
No FDA-approved glutathione drug product exists, so no label storage directions apply. Oral capsules are stored at room temperature. Injectable glutathione in the US is a compounded, unapproved preparation: storage and beyond-use dating are set by the compounding pharmacy that made it. Glutathione oxidises readily on exposure to air and light, which is why injectable preparations are single-use.
Frequency in practice
Once or twice daily in the oral and intravenous trials; three divided doses per day in the intranasal trial.
Regulatory
There is no FDA-approved glutathione drug product. Oral glutathione is sold in the US as a dietary supplement; injectable glutathione is compounded and unapproved, and the intravenous 'glutathione drip' offered by aesthetic clinics is an off-label compounded use. The glutathione entries returned by the openFDA label API are misleading if taken at face value: 'Free Radical' and 'Hepataplex' are multi-ingredient homeopathic products, the standalone 'Glutathione' listing is a homeopathic oral drop preparation whose own label reads 'Claims based on traditional homeopathic practice, not accepted medical evidence. Not FDA evaluated', and 'FEELSHION Dark Spot Remover Serum' is a cosmetic. Their '1-10 drops' or 'apply morning and evening' directions are not glutathione doses and were not used here.
What to know before anything else
No glutathione product is FDA-approved for any indication. The SPL records that appear in FDA label searches are homeopathic and cosmetic listings that state on their face that they have not been evaluated by the FDA. They are not approvals and their directions are not doses.
Intravenous glutathione for skin lightening: a 2025 systematic review in the International Journal of Dermatology concludes flatly that 'IV glutathione is contraindicated due to lack of efficacy and side effects'. This is the single most common consumer use of injectable glutathione and the evidence points the other way.
Injectable glutathione in the US is a compounded, unapproved drug. Sterility, potency and purity depend entirely on the compounder, and none of it is subject to the manufacturing controls that back an approved product.
Almost all of the positive intravenous evidence comes from hospital populations (chemotherapy toxicity protection, Parkinson's disease, acute myocardial infarction, hemodialysis) administered by clinicians, and does not transfer to healthy adults seeking an antioxidant infusion.
Oral bioavailability is poor and inconsistent. Oral dosing raises body stores measurably over months, but a head-to-head crossover found the same oral dose markedly less effective than a sublingual form, and the skin-lightening reviews describe the oral evidence as inconclusive and low quality.
The Parkinson's intravenous data is a 9-patient open-label study with no control group: a positive result that no blinded trial has confirmed.
Glutathione's rationale in chemotherapy is that it reduces platinum toxicity. Whether it also reduces platinum efficacy is not settled by the trials cited here; this is not a self-directed decision to make alongside cancer treatment.
Glutathione questions
Does an intravenous glutathione drip lighten skin?
The evidence points the other way. A 2025 systematic review in the International Journal of Dermatology concludes that intravenous glutathione is contraindicated for this use, citing lack of efficacy and side effects. That is the single most common consumer use of injectable glutathione. The same review found five randomised trials and one open-arm study in which oral glutathione did reduce the melanin index against placebo, while rating that evidence inconsistent and of mixed quality.
Is there an established human dose for glutathione?
For four routes, yes, but not for the reason people usually ask. The published ranges below come from unrelated indications: a six-month randomised trial of oral supplementation in healthy non-smokers, a phase I/IIa intranasal safety study in Parkinson's disease, an open-label intravenous study in early Parkinson's, a randomised intravenous pilot before angioplasty for heart attack, and a randomised chemotherapy protocol whose intramuscular arm followed an intravenous loading dose. None of them studied an antioxidant infusion in a healthy adult. The oncology protocols dose by body surface area, a unit this library cannot express, so those figures are described in the evidence note rather than tabulated.
Is oral glutathione absorbed, or is injecting it the only thing that works?
Oral bioavailability is the central problem, because intact glutathione is extensively degraded in the gut. It is not nothing, though. A six-month randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in 54 healthy non-smoking adults raised body glutathione stores in blood, erythrocytes, plasma, lymphocytes and buccal cells in a dose- and time-dependent way, with levels returning to baseline a month after stopping. A three-week crossover in 20 people with metabolic syndrome found a sublingual form raised plasma glutathione and the GSH/GSSG ratio significantly more than the same oral dose, which is a measure of how much of an oral dose is lost.
Is injectable glutathione FDA-approved?
No glutathione product is approved for any indication. The entries that surface in an FDA label search are misleading if taken at face value: two are multi-ingredient homeopathic products, the standalone listing is a homeopathic oral drop preparation whose own label says its claims are not FDA evaluated, and another is a cosmetic serum. Their directions are not glutathione doses. Injectable glutathione in the US is compounded and unapproved, so sterility, potency and purity depend entirely on the compounder.
What is the evidence behind the hospital uses of intravenous glutathione?
Mixed, and mostly not transferable to a healthy adult. The Parkinson's result is a nine-patient open-label study with no control group, reporting a 42% decline in disability scores that no blinded trial has confirmed. The cardiology result is a randomised pilot in 50 patients, in which an infusion given before primary angioplasty for STEMI and repeated over the next three days reduced markers of oxidative stress and raised nitric oxide bioavailability. The strongest is oncology: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in 50 patients with advanced gastric cancer found markedly less clinical and electrophysiological cisplatin neuropathy, fewer transfusions and less treatment delay. All three are clinician-administered protocols in hospital populations.
Can glutathione be used alongside chemotherapy?
That is not a self-directed decision. Glutathione's rationale in chemotherapy is that it reduces platinum toxicity, and the gastric cancer trial supports that for cisplatin neuropathy. Whether it also reduces platinum efficacy is not settled by the trials cited here, which is exactly why this belongs with the oncologist running the protocol rather than with a clinic selling infusions.
Does glutathione need to be reconstituted, and how is it stored?
It depends on the pharmacy, and there is no label to fall back on. Compounded injectable glutathione may be supplied as a solution or as a lyophilised powder, so the dispensing pharmacy's directions are the only source; the trial protocols cited here diluted the dose in normal saline before infusing it. Glutathione oxidises readily on exposure to air and light, which is why injectable preparations are single-use. Oral capsules are kept at room temperature. Note also that this record carries no half-life for glutathione and no reviewed interactions, so neither is a clean bill, just an absence.
Every number above, and where it came from
7 sources, numbered where they are used. Each one links to the paper or the label itself, not to a summary of it.
- [1]Randomized controlled trial of oral glutathione supplementation on body stores of glutathione
European journal of nutrition · 2015 · Randomized controlled trial · n=54
- [2]Glutathione as a skin-lightening agent and in melasma: a systematic review
International journal of dermatology · 2025 · Systematic review
- [3]Effects of N-acetylcysteine, oral glutathione (GSH) and a novel sublingual form of GSH on oxidative stress markers: A comparative crossover study
Redox biology · 2015 · Randomized crossover trial · n=20
- [4]A randomized, double-blind phase I/IIa study of intranasal glutathione in Parkinson's disease
Movement disorders · 2015 · Randomized controlled trial, phase I/IIa · n=30
- [5]Reduced intravenous glutathione in the treatment of early Parkinson's disease
Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatry · 1996 · Open-label clinical trial · n=9
- [6]Glutathione infusion before primary percutaneous coronary intervention: a randomised controlled pilot study
BMJ open · 2019 · Randomized controlled trial (pilot) · n=50
- [7]Neuroprotective effect of reduced glutathione on cisplatin-based chemotherapy in advanced gastric cancer: a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial
Journal of clinical oncology · 1995 · Randomized controlled trial · n=50
The rest of the math
- Reconstitution calculatorThe full version of the tool above, with syringe barrel sizes and IU conversion.
- Vial longevityHow many doses a vial holds and the date it runs out.
- Cost per doseVial price against doses drawn, so two vial sizes can be compared honestly.
- Half-life and decayFirst-order clearance, time to steady state, and what remains at a given hour.
Same class as Glutathione
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A calculator answers once and forgets. Dosavy keeps the concentration you mixed, the doses you actually took, and a reminder for the next one, with the same evidence labels you see on this page.