Effect of ozone treatment on glutathione (GSH) status in selected berry fruit.

The major aim of this study was to investigate the effect of one-time ozone elicitation on glutathione metabolism in selected berry fruit. Raspberry, highbush blueberry, strawberry, blackberry and blackcurrant fruit was ozonated with an ozone concentration of 15 ppm for 30 min. Research showed that ozonation process causes clear and positive changes in the metabolism of glutathione in berries. After ozonation, the fruit was characterized by increased level of glutathione (GSH), which resulted from higher activity of glutathione synthetase. Moreover, ozonation improved the metabolism activity of mitochondria leading to an increase in biosynthesis of ATP, which is the source of energy necessary for the GSH production. The higher activity of the enzymes involved in glutathione metabolism i.e. glutathione peroxidase and glutathione reductase and increased level of glutathione contributed to the higher ability of the fruit to scavenging the hydrogen peroxide.