Intravenous glutathione should not be mismatched with ozone as an antioxidant therapy

Intravenous (IV) glutathione (GSH) therapy is increasingly used as an antioxidant intervention, often perceived as interchangeable with ozone therapy. However, this article challenges that notion, highlighting significant biochemical differences and uses dynamic modelling, via Ordinary Differential Equations, the authors compare pharmacokinetics of IV-GSH versus endogenous GSH production stimulated by ozone. Findings indicate that IV-GSH induces non-physiological plasma concentrations, causing reductive stress and impairing mitochondrial and immune functions. In contrast, ozone elicits a controlled oxidative stimulus via the Nrf2 pathway, promoting adaptive, physiological GSH synthesis. Despite patient reports of symptom relief with high-dose IV antioxidants, these effects may reflect transient metabolic modulation or placebo influence, not sustainable therapeutic benefit. The study calls for a paradigm shift in redox-based therapies, emphasizing dose-dependent effects and advocating for physiological mimicry over pharmacological excess. Clinicians are urged to critically assess antioxidant interventions, recognizing the potential harms of reductive extremes alongside oxidative ones.