Does anyone know exactly what glutathione is? Does it help detox the liver? like milk thistle?

Glutathione is a tripeptide made intracellularly from its constituent amino acids Lglutamate,
L-cysteine and glycine. The sulfhydryl (thiol) group (SH) of cysteine is
responsible for the biological activity of glutathione. Provision of this amino acid is the
rate-limiting factor in glutathione synthesis by the cells since bioavailable cysteine is relatively rare in foodstuffs.
Immunocal® is a bovine whey protein isolate specially prepared so as to provide a rich source of bioavailable cysteine.
Immunocal® can thus be viewed as a cysteine delivery system.
The disulphide bond in cystine is pepsin and trypsin resistant but may be split by heat, low pH or mechanical stress releasing
free cysteine. When subject to heat or shearing forces (inherent in most extraction processes), the fragile disulfide bonds within
the peptides are broken and the bioavailability of cysteine is greatly diminished.
Glutathione is a tightly regulated intracellular constituent and is limited in its production by negative feedback inhibition of its
own synthesis through the enzyme gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase, thus greatly minimizing any possibility of overdosage.
Glutathione has multiple functions:

1. It is the major endogenous antioxidant produced by the cells, participating directly in the neutralization of free radicals
and reactive oxygen compounds, as well as maintaining exogenous antioxidants such as vitamins C and E in their
reduced (active) forms.

2. Through direct conjugation, it detoxifies many xenobiotics (foreign compounds) and carcinogens, both organic and
inorganic.

3. It is essential for the immune system to exert its full potential, e.g. (1) modulating antigen presentation to lymphocytes,
thereby influencing cytokine production and type of response (cellular or humoral) that develops, (2) enhancing
proliferation of lymphocytes thereby increasing magnitude of response, (3) enhancing killing activity of cytotoxic T cells
and NK cells, and (4) regulating apoptosis, thereby maintaining control of the immune response.

4. It plays a fundamental role in numerous metabolic and biochemical reactions such as DNA synthesis and repair, protein
synthesis, prostaglandin synthesis, amino acid transport and enzyme activation. Thus, every system in the body can be
affected by the state of the glutathione system, especially the immune system, the nervous system, the gastrointestinal
system and the lungs.

Glutathione augmentation is a strategy developed to address states of glutathione deficiency, high oxidative stress, immune
deficiency, and xenobiotic overload in which glutathione plays a part in the detoxification of the xenobiotic in question.

Glutathione deficiency states include, but are not limited to: HIV/AIDS, infectious hepatitis, certain types of cancers, cataracts,
Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinsons, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, radiation, poisoning by acetominophen and
related agents, malnutritive states, arduous physical stress, aging, and has been associated with sub-optimal immune response.

Many clinical pathologies are associated with oxidative stress and are elaborated upon in numerous medical references.
Low glutathione is also strongly implicated in wasting and negative nitrogen balance, notably as seen in cancer, AIDS, sepsis,
trauma, burns and even athletic overtraining. Cysteine supplementation can oppose this process and in AIDS, for example,
result in improved survival rates.

Milk thistle is a precursor or building block for glutathione, so if you take milk thistle, it can have an impact, but not as great of an impact as if you used one of the two forms of cysteine above.