For the body to resist these damages, it possesses a range of endogenous antioxidants, primarily enzymatic antioxidants (superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPX), glutathione S-transferase (GST), glutathione reductase (GR), thioredoxin reductase (TrxR), catalase (CAT), etc.), and nonenzymatic antioxidants (glutathione (GSH), bilirubin, ubiquinone, etc.) [11]
Some research suggests that glutathione may also influence melanin production in the skin
379 In PGC-1 knockout mouse models, DA neurons exhibit increased sensitivity to the neurotoxin MPTP, potentially due to the lack of PGC-1-mediated induction of antioxidant responses
Bioavailability: NAC has an oral bioavailability of approximately 6-10% due to extensive first-pass metabolism, but the deacetylated cysteine that reaches tissues effectively drives glutathione synthesis [9]