The protective effect of administration of glutathione (GSH) isopropyl ester on photodamage, such as lipid peroxidation, inflammation and tumorigenesis induced by UV exposure (290-400 nm, max. 312 nm), was investigated using hairless mice. Pretreatment with 20 mg/kg GSH isopropyl ester prevented the increases of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substance (TBARS) formation in skin and serum sialic acid, indices of lipid peroxidation and inflammatory reaction, respectively, which were caused by a single dose (15 kJ/m2) of UV irradiation. The level of epidermal GSH in skins of the GSH ester-treated mice was maintained within normal limits. When mice were exposed to UV at a dose of 2 kJ/m2, three times weekly, skin tumors developed in all of them after 25 weeks. The formation of skin tumors was significantly inhibited by administration of 10 mg/kg GSH ester prior to each UV irradiation for 25 weeks. Moreover, the increases of cutaneous TBARS and serum sialic acid in the tumor-bearing mice were also prevented by continuous pretreatment with GSH ester. Even after 24 weeks, the epidermal GSH content of the pretreated mice was mostly retained compared to nonirradiated mice. However, administration of GSH prior to acute or chronic UV irradiation had no effect on the UV-induced damage. The present results suggest that the protection from photodamage afforded by pretreatment with GSH ester is due to maintenance of a normal GSH level.