Mitochondrial Bench
SS-31, NAD+ and glutathione, with the null trials named
Overview
SS-31, NAD+ and glutathione get sold together under one word, mitochondria. this bench separates the one approved indication from the failed trials, and the routes with human data from the ones with none.
Read this first
all three are research use only from BHG Labs, with a third-party COA on every lot. two things before any link. first, the approved form of SS-31 is a prescription subcutaneous pharmaceutical for Barth syndrome; the research vial is not that product, and the COA is the only thing that says what it contains. second, the NAD+ research atomizer uses a route with no human evidence behind it, not one paper. nothing on this page is an amount or a schedule.
The bench: 3 compounds
roles and evidence, not amounts. this page does not publish doses or schedules for research compounds.
1SS-31human trials
read the guidethe cardiolipin binder. a tetrapeptide that concentrates on the inner mitochondrial membrane. a prescription form of this molecule received FDA accelerated approval on 2025-09-19, as a subcutaneous product to improve muscle strength in Barth syndrome patients weighing at least 30 kg, and still needs a confirmatory trial.
evidence: MMPOWER-3, the 218-patient phase 3 in primary mitochondrial myopathy, missed both primary endpoints (six-minute walk and fatigue). ReCLAIM-2 in dry AMD missed both of its primaries. TAZPOWER's randomized crossover missed its primaries; the walk-distance gain people quote comes from the open-label extension with no concurrent control.
watch for: injection-site reactions in 80 to 100% of treated participants across the trials. a name on a vial does not establish what it holds; read the COA for the sequence.
2NAD+one small human PK study
read the guidethe coenzyme. the store sells the molecule itself, lyophilized and as a research atomizer. most of the human literature that sounds like it belongs to NAD+ belongs to its precursors, NR and NMN.
evidence: a 2026 systematic review of 113 studies found no outcomes trial of IV or IM NAD+ itself. the one IV pharmacokinetic study (11 people, industry-funded) saw no rise in plasma NAD+ for two hours, with a metabolite pattern that fits the molecule being broken down before uptake. precursor trials raise blood NAD+ reliably and then mostly miss on outcomes.
watch for: nasal NAD+ has no human data at all, only a mouse paper. neither does subcutaneous or oral intact NAD+. high-dose NR nudged homocysteine up at first.
3Glutathionehuman trials
read the guidethe tripeptide antioxidant. the whole argument about it is about route.
evidence: oral: null in Witschi 1992 and Allen 2011, positive in Richie 2015 (stores up 30 to 35% over six months and back to baseline within a month of stopping), and no outcome benefit by any route. IV: the randomized Parkinson's trial (21 patients) found no difference on UPDRS. intranasal: raises brain glutathione, but the phase 2b found neither dose better than placebo.
watch for: seven published endotoxin-poisoning cases came from contaminated infusions, and in August 2026 the FDA reported at least 30 adverse-event cases from supplement-grade glutathione used for injection. one participant on high-dose intranasal glutathione developed cardiomyopathy.
Form
lyophilized vials, as sold (NAD+ also as a research atomizer)
Human data
one approved prescription indication for SS-31 beside six randomized trials that missed their primary endpoints; one 11-person pharmacokinetic study for NAD+ itself; mixed, route-dependent trials for glutathione
BHG Labs carries
3 of 3
Level
advanced
Why these together
they are together because vendors sell them together, not because any study did. the rationale is a shared phrase, oxidative stress, and it is thin: delivered glutathione failed to move oxidation markers over six months, the developers of SS-31 moved from a scavenging model to cardiolipin binding, and the human trial of an antioxidant given during cancer radiotherapy raised second cancers. the honest reason to read them side by side is to see how different their evidence is.
Overlap
NAD+ and glutathione are coupled in the textbook: NADPH feeds glutathione reductase. no human study shows that supplementing NAD+ raises reduced glutathione. the only combination data anywhere is SS-31 with NMN in old mice, where each corrected a different cardiac deficit, which argues they address different problems rather than the same one.
Conflicts
asthma with inhaled or nebulized glutathione: a 19% FEV1 drop in mild asthmatics through sulfite formation. injecting anything sold as a supplement or research chemical: the 2026 FDA cases were supplement-grade glutathione compounded for injection, and no research vial has published sterility or endotoxin data either. cancer history: the NAD+ literature argues against boosting it without a reason, and antioxidant supplementation during radiotherapy raised second primaries. NAD+ infusions: more frequent and more severe infusion reactions than NR in one unreviewed preprint whose test article is a branded NR product. no pairing of the three has been studied in people.
What the evidence actually is
SS-31: one accelerated approval in Barth syndrome on a strength endpoint, a Class I statement of no benefit in primary mitochondrial myopathy, and a missed AMD trial. NAD+: no outcomes trial of the molecule by any route, one 11-person infusion study, and a precursor literature that raises blood levels and mostly misses on outcomes. glutathione: an unresolved oral debate, a null IV trial in Parkinson's, a null intranasal phase 2b, and no route with an outcome benefit.
What people report
people report more energy on all three. the trials that measured fatigue (MMPOWER-3) and oxidative markers (Allen 2011) did not move.
Who It's For
people who have seen these three sold as a set and want to know which part is a drug, which part is a precursor story, and which part is a route with no data
What to Track
fatigue on a fixed scale, any local reaction, sleep, resting heart rate
Sourced at BHG Labs
Third-party COA on every lot. Research use only. Code BHG20 takes 20% off at checkout, and the store links below apply it for you.
Read the compound guides
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