Figure 1.

The GLV synthetic pathway in plants. Linolenic acid or linolenoyl residues of lipids are oxygenated by lipoxygenase (LOX) to yield corresponding hydroperoxides. These are cleaved by hydroperoxide lyase (HPL) to form C6-aldehydes and 12-carbon ω-oxo carboxylic acids (or esters when lipids are the starting material). A portion of (Z)-3-hexenal is spontaneously or enzymatically isomerized to form (E)-2-hexenal, and a portion of (Z)-3-hexenal is reduced by reductases to (Z)-3-hexen-1-ol. Further acetylation leads to the formation of (Z)-3-hexen-1-yl acetate.