Comparative study of biological activity of glutathione, sodium tungstate and glutathione-tungstate mixture

Abstract

Glutathione (GSH) and sodium tungstate (Na₂WO₄) are important pharmacological agents. They provide protection to cells against cytotoxic agents and thus reduce their cytotoxicity. It was of interest to study the biological activity of these two pharmacological active agents. Different strains of bacteria were used and the zone of inhibition was determined for GSH, Na₂WO₄ and GSH+ Na₂WO₄ mixture. The results show high antibacterial activity of GSH as compared to Na₂WO₄ and Na₂WO₄+GSH mixture. It was observed that GSH antibacterial activity was significantly lowered upon addition of Na₂WO₄ to GSH aqueous solution. The results conclude with the proposed formation of W-SG complex in aqueous solution.

Key words: Glutathione, sodium tungstate, antibacterial activity, strains of bacteria.