Abstract
The effects of orally administered glutathione-enriched yeast extract were studied in a model of acute hepatotoxicity induced by a high intraperitoneal dose of acetaminophen in rats. The reduced glutathione (GSH)-enriched extract showed dose-dependent hepatoprotective effects which were associated with recovery of the liver GSH level. Because no hepatoprotective effects were obtained using bread yeast extract that contained only low levels of GSH, the GSH-enriched yeast extract was shown to be effective by serving as a useful precursor for GSH biosynthesis in the liver. Because the hepatoprotective effect of GSH-enriched yeast extract tended to be stronger than that calculated from its GSH contents, substances other than GSH might also have contributed. Oxidized glutathione (GSSG) -enriched yeast extract given orally also showed a hepatoprotective effect together with recovery of the liver GSH level.
