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Blood glutathione concentrations in a large-scale human study

Clinical ChemistryPublished 1 January 1996Open access
John P. Richie, Lukasz Skowronski, Paul Abraham, Yvonne Leutzinger
Citations229
SJR quartileQ1
SJR score1.34
SNIP1.39
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TL;DR

A rapid method for measuring GSH concentrations in whole blood is developed and validated and the results presented here validate the use of this method for large-scale human studies and provide information on the variation and normal values of blood GSH in adults.

Abstract

Little is known about the variability of blood glutathione (GSH) in human subjects. Thus, we wanted to develop and validate a rapid method for measuring GSH concentrations in whole blood and apply this method to ascertain the variation of GSH in a large-scale study of free-living adults. The assay was highly sensitive (detection limit < 5 pmol) and precise, with an interassay variation of 2.3% and a sampling variation of 3.6%. Applying this method to screen 715 adults, we observed a threefold range of GSH concentrations, with a mean of 1.02 mmol/L and CV of 17%. GSH concentrations were 8-10% greater in smokers than in nonsmokers (P < 0.001). Although we observed no sex differences for GSH, GSH/hemoglobin ratios were 8-18% greater in women < 55 years old than in older subjects (P < 0.05). The results presented here validate the use of this method for large-scale human studies and provide information on the variation and normal values of blood GSH in adults.

Keywords

MedicineBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology