What is Glutathione?
Glutathione (GSH) is an antioxidant in plants, animals, fungi, and some bacteria and archaea. Glutathione is capable of preventing damage to important cellular components caused by sources such as reactive oxygen species, free radicals, peroxides, lipid peroxides, and heavy metals. It is a tripeptide with a gamma peptide linkage between the carboxyl group of the glutamate side chain and cysteine. The carboxyl group of the cysteine residue is attached by normal peptide linkage to glycine.
Glutathione has a significant yield-increasing effect on crop growth. The principle of action is that in plants, by participating in the acetalase reaction, activating the Carr cycle, improving photosynthesis, and promoting the accumulation of carbon dioxide in plants, thereby promoting effects such as increasing yield. At the same time, oxidized glutathione can also be converted into reduced glutathione in plants, forming a glutathione-resistance system with ascorbate, which has the function of improving crop stress resistance. At present, glutathione has achieved remarkable results in crops such as ginger, potato, apple, sugar beet, sweet potato, etc. in China, Japan, the United States, India, Vietnam and other places, and the market demand will be broad in the future.
In plants, glutathione is involved in stress management. It is a component of the glutathione-ascorbate cycle, a system that reduces poisonous hydrogen peroxide. It is the precursor of phytochelatins, glutathione oligomers that chelate heavy metals such as cadmium. Glutathione is required for efficient defence against plant pathogens such as Pseudomonas syringae and Phytophthora brassicae. Adenylyl-sulfate reductase, an enzyme of the sulfur assimilation pathway, uses glutathione as an electron donor. Other enzymes using glutathione as a substrate are glutaredoxins. These small oxidoreductases are involved in flower development, salicylic acid, and plant defence signalling.
