The Carbohydrate Metabolism section includes posts/pages covering the basic biochemistry of biological carbohydrates, as well as the pathways of glycolysis, gluconeogenesis, glycogen metabolism, fructose metabolism, galactose metabolism, the pentose phosphate pathway, the reactions of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDHc), and the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle
Last Updated: January 17, 2024 Glycosaminoglycans The most abundant heteropolysaccharides in the body are the glycosaminoglycans (GAGs). The glycosaminoglycans are historically referred to as the mucopolysaccharides given that they were originally characterized in...
Last Updated: October 30, 2024 Introduction to Pyruvate Metabolism and the TCA Cycle The bulk of the ATP used by all cells (except mature red blood cells), to maintain homeostasis, is produced by the re-oxidation of the reduced electron carriers, NADH and FADH2,...
Last Updated: September 9, 2024 Introduction to the PPP The pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) is primarily catabolic and serves as an alternative glucose oxidizing pathway. Glucose metabolism via the PPP is essential for the generation of NADPH that is required for...
Last Updated: October 23, 2024 Introduction to Glycogen Metabolism Glycogen is a polymer of glucose residues linked by α-(1,4)- and α-(1,6)-glycosidic bonds. Stores of readily available glucose, to supply the tissues of the body with an oxidizable energy source, are...
Last Updated: November 11, 2024 Introduction to Gluconeogenesis Gluconeogenesis is the biosynthesis of new glucose, (i.e. not glucose from glycogen). This process is frequently referred to as endogenous glucose production (EGP). The production of glucose from other...
Last Updated: January 18, 2024 Galactose Metabolism Galactose, which is metabolized from the milk sugar, lactose (a disaccharide of glucose and galactose), enters glycolysis by its conversion to glucose-1-phosphate (G1P). This occurs through a series of steps that is...
Last Updated: November 1, 2024 Introduction to Fructose The major natural sources of fructose in the human diet are fruits, honey, and sucrose (a disaccharide of glucose and fructose). Under normal dietary intake the majority of the ingested fructose is metabolized by...
Last Updated: November 4, 2024 Digestion of Dietary Carbohydrates Dietary carbohydrate, from which humans gain energy, enters the body in complex forms, such as disaccharides and the polymers starch (amylose and amylopectin) and glycogen. The polymer cellulose is also...
Last Updated: March 6, 2023 Introduction to Carbohydrates Carbohydrates are carbon compounds that contain large quantities of hydroxyl groups. The simplest carbohydrates also contain either an aldehyde moiety (these are termed polyhydroxyaldehydes) or a ketone moiety...