We measured the total glutathione content in 38 liver biopsies from patients undergoing diagnostic liver biopsy to study whether liver diseases result in decreased glutathione content making the liver more sensitive to different toxic damages. The glutathione concentrations ranged from 20.2 to 41.0 mumol/g hepatic protein in six biopsies without light microscopic pathological changes (mean +/- SD = 26.9 = +/- 8.1). The mean concentrations +/- SD in patients with toxic hepatitis (n = 3), viral hepatitis (n = 4), chronic active hepatitis (n = 4), cirrhosis (n = 14) and steatosis (n = 7) were 62.5 +/- 27.2, 47.4 +/- 25.9, 38.3 +/- 17.0, 29.1 +/- 15.7 and 21.0 +/- 9.6, respectively. The hepatic glutathione content is not decreased in patients with moderate hepatic impairment.