Ascorbic acid biosynthesis: a precursor study on plants

Abstract

Since the first isolation of ascorbic acid (AsA) in 1928, few papers have been published regarding the biosynthesis of AsA in plants, especially in fruits. It took as long as 1998, before Wheeler, Jones and Smirnoff, based on a study with Arabidopsis leaves, proposed what can be considered the main pathway of biosynthesis of AsA, in which L-galactose (L-GAL) is a key precursor. This paper reports the effectiveness of some precursors (cold or radiolabeled) in the biosynthesis of AsA in different plants: green sweet pepper, white-pulp guava, red-pulp guava, papaya and strawberry at two ripening stages (mature green and ripe for papaya and mature green and half red for strawberry) and broccoli. The 'Smirnoff-Wheeler' pathway was functioning and active in all sources studied, as demonstrated by the increase in AsA contents and incorporation of labeled precursors into AsA. In papaya, the AsA content in the ripe fruit was higher than in the mature green, indicating the synthesis of AsA during ripening. On the other hand, the AsA content in the mature green strawberry was similar to that of the half red fruits. Our data demonstrate that L-GAL and L-Galactono-1,4-lactone (L-GL) are effective precursors for the biosynthesis of AsA in fruits and also provided additional evidence for the participation of D-mannose (D-MAN) and D-glucose-1P in the biosynthesis of AsA in plants.