Oxidized Glutathione (GSSG)

Glutathione is an antioxidant that helps protecting cells from reactive oxygen species such as free radicals and peroxides. By acting as an electron donor, glutathione reduces any disulfide bond formed within cytoplasmic proteins to cysteines. In this process, glutathione is converted to its oxidized form glutathione disulfide . In fact, the ratio of reduced glutathione to oxidized glutathione within cells is often used scientifically as a measure of cellular toxicity.