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Abstract

Vitamins have different physiological and clinical roles besides preventing deficiency diseases. This is the case of vitamin C that beyond preventing scurvy, it has a well known antioxidant activity and the capacity to spare GSH. GSH is a tripeptide widely distributed in marnmalian cells, which is not required in the diet. The gamma-glutamyl cycle is responsible for the synthesis and degradation of GSH. This tripeptide provides the cell with a reducing milieu that is achieved through the action of glutathione disulfide reductase. Administration of ascorbic acid may also contribute to the reducing properties of cells. There is enough scientific background to support the fact that several conditions associated with oxidative stress might be improved by therapy that maintain GSH within normal leves. This can be achieved by the administration of GSH-esters, increasing the capacity for GSH synthesis by providing substrates such as N-acetyl-L-cysteine aml/or by increasing the availibility of compounds such as ascorbate that can spare GSH. All these facts could be of clinical interest in the design of the right "cocktail" in order to keep intracellular GSH within normal values in marnmalian tissues under those situations were GSH is depleted.