Catabolism of pyruvate Flashcards
Where is NAD+ derived from
Niacin, a vitamin
How is NADH re-oxidised to NAD+ (allowing glycolysis to continue)
Metabolism of pyruvate
What products are produced after pyruvate oxidation and the citric acid cycle under aerobic conditions
CO2 and H2O
What products are produced from pyruvate fermentation under anaerobic conditions
Lactate (humans) or alcohol (yeast)
under what conditions is pyruvate oxidation possible
aerobic
why is the TCA cycle a better source of energy
it produces more NADH
what pathway produces the co2 that is exhaled
the TCA cycle
where does inhaled oxygen get fixed
into water in the electron transport chain
why do muscles become acidic
lactate is produced under anaerobic conditions
no water is produced since there’s no oxygen so spare hydrogens from NADH need to be dealt with
pyruvate -> lactate enzyme
lactate dehydrogenase
acetaldehyde -> ethanol
alcohol dehydrogenase
why is CO2 released when pyruvate is broken down to acetyl CoA or acetaldehyde
why is it not released when pyruvate is converted to lactic acid
pyruvate has 3 carbons and both of them have 2 so one spare is released in co2
lactate has the same number of carbons meaning none is released as co2 and it can be converted back to pyruvate
Lactic acid fermentation products
regenerates 2 NAD+ from NADH
alcohol fermentation and products
pyruvate -> acetaldehyde (releases CO2)
acetaldehyde - accepts an H to become -> ethanol (regenerates NAD+)
how does pyruvate become acetyl CoA
decarboxylated (releases CO2)
