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17.3: Carbohydrate Metabolism

  • Page ID
    36327
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    Learning Objectives
    • Review carbohydrate metabolism.

    Introduction

    There are many metabolic pathways, processes, or reactions that are involved in the synthesis or degradation of carbohydrates and compounds formed from them. Please note that most of these pathways are not specific to carbohydrates only. For example, in gluconeogenesis certain (glucogenic) amino acids are used for synthesizing glucose if needed.

    Overview of Terminology

    • Glycogenesis
      • glycogen synthesis
    • Glycogenolysis
      • glycogen breakdown
    • Gluconeogenesis
      • synthesis of glucose from a non-carbohydrate source
    • Glycolysis
      • breakdown of glucose to pyruvate
    • Transition Reaction
      • conversion of pyruvate to acetyl-CoA
    • Krebs Cycle (also known as Citric Acid or Tricarboxylic acid (TCA) Cycle)
      • acetyl-CoA combines with oxaloacetate to form citrate; ATP, NADH, and FADH2 are produced in the cycle
    • Electron Transport Chain
      • oxidative phosphorylation, producing ATP from NADH and FADH2
    Video

    Let's pull it all together what you already learned about 'carbohydrate metabolism' in previous chapters Please watch this short video to help you remember.

    "Carbohydrate Structure and Metabolism, an Overview, Animation" by Alila Medical Media is licensed under CC BY 4.0

    References & Attributions

    Content on this page was adapted from the following sources under an open licensing agreement:

    Learning Check \(\PageIndex{1}\)

    17.3: Carbohydrate Metabolism is shared under a CC BY license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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