Magnetic fields as inducer of glutathione and peroxidase production by Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Glutathione (GSH) and peroxidase (POD) are biomolecules of interest in the global market; thus, it is desirable to seek ways to increase their production. Magnetic field (MF) application is one of the technologies used in cultivation that has shown promising results to increase bioproducts. Therefore, this study aimed at evaluating the influence of MFs on GSH and POD production by Saccharomyces cerevisiae ATCC 7754. Different periods of MF application (35 mT) were evaluated over 72 h. The highest GSH production was reached in 48 h of cultivation in assays MF 0–24 (155.32 ± 9.12 mg L−1) and MF 0–72 (149.27 ± 3.62 mg L−1), which showed an increase of 121.9 % and 113 %, respectively, by comparison with the control without any MF application. The highest POD activity was achieved when MFs were applied throughout the culture (36.31 U mg−1) and POD productivity of 0.72 U mg−1 h−1. MF application throughout cultivation proved to be a promising strategy since all responses increased, i.e., GSH concentration, GSH productivity, POD activity, and POD productivity increased 113.7 %, 113 %, 20.4 %, and 28.6 %, respectively. This study is one of the first to consider MFs as a viable and low-cost alternative to produce GSH and POD in bioprocesses.