The important role of glutathione in human growth

 

GSH is synthesized by glutamate-cysteine ligase (GCL) and glutathione synthase (GSS). GCL is the cause of the special peptide bond of glutathione. It first converts glutamate into The γ-position carboxyl group is connected to the amino group of cysteine to form the precursor of GSH - γ-glutamylcysteine. GSS then attaches glycine to it. Thus, GSH was born.

The structure of glutathione contains an active sulfhydryl group (-SH), which is the active group of glutathione (so glutathione is often abbreviated as GSH). It easily interacts with certain drugs (such as paracetamol) and toxins (such as It combines with free radicals, iodoacetic acid, mustard gas, heavy metals such as lead, mercury, arsenic, etc., and has an integrated detoxification effect. In addition, glutathione also has antioxidant and maintenance functions such as normal immune system.

1. Antioxidant function

Glutathione (GSH) is an antioxidant, and its antioxidant function is one of its main functions. It can help the body remove free radicals and peroxides and maintain a relatively stable state of the organism.

GSH can directly bind and scavenge free radicals through sulfhydryl groups. It can also indirectly scavenge free radicals and improve the body's antioxidant function by increasing the activity of two antioxidant enzymes, GSH-Px and GST.

2. Growth-promoting function

GSH is a natural tripeptide that participates in the intracellular γ-glutamyl cycle and plays a very important role in the transport of nutrients such as amino acids.

GSH can improve the body's absorption and utilization of amino acids, promote protein synthesis, and improve its growth performance by directly participating in the intracellular amino acid transport. It can also promote the development of its growth potential by improving the body's overall antioxidant capacity and health status. , indirectly achieving the growth-promoting effect.

3. Detoxification function

GSH has the function of weakening the toxicity of toxic substances and removing toxic substances from the body.

Similar to the antioxidant effect of GSH, it can also directly reduce the damage caused by toxic substances to the body through two methods to achieve detoxification function. First, it can directly combine with toxic substances to excrete them from the body; second, it can indirectly achieve the removal of toxic substances by increasing the activity of GSH-Px and GST enzymes, and ultimately weaken or eliminate the impact of toxic substances on the body.

In short, the unique molecular structure of GSH enables it to possess multiple physiological functions such as antioxidant, anti-stress, and detoxification, so it plays a very important role in healthy growth.