Introduction to Metabolism

Metabolism is the set of chemical reactions that keep living cells working. These reactions are linked through many pathways. Together, they support the normal function of cells in plants, animals, and microbes.

In plants, sunlight is the main energy source. Chlorophyll pigments in the leaves absorb this light. The plant then uses that energy for photosynthesis. During photosynthesis, water is oxidized to oxygen and carbon dioxide is reduced to glucose. Glucose then serves as a starting...

Carbohydrates are an important source of energy and a key part of human nutrition. They are made of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. One gram of carbohydrate provides four kilo-calories of energy, so carbohydrates are the body’s most efficient instant fuel.

Starch makes up about 60% of the carbohydrates people eat. It is broken down by amylase enzymes, but amylase cannot work in the stomach’s acidic environment. That is why starch digestion happens in the mouth and the small intestine. Simple...

Glycolysis begins with energy investment steps in the cytoplasm of both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. It is the first step in cellular metabolism, which is the complete breakdown of glucose to extract energy. In heterotrophic cells, glucose enters by secondary active transport or through GLUT proteins, which are glucose transporter proteins that help glucose diffuse into the cell.

The pathway starts with one six-carbon, ring-shaped glucose molecule and ends with two three-carbon molecules...

The pay-off phase of glycolysis turns the two three-carbon sugar molecules into ATP, NADH, and pyruvate. By this stage, the cell has already spent two ATP molecules. The remaining reactions recover that investment and add two more ATP molecules and two high-energy NADH molecules.

The sixth step oxidizes glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate, a three-carbon sugar made earlier in glycolysis. High-energy electrons are transferred to NAD+, which becomes NADH. A second phosphate group is then added to form...

Pyruvate is a key product of glycolysis and can follow different pathways depending on oxygen availability. During glycolysis, glucose is oxidized to pyruvate, NAD+ is reduced to NADH, and two ATP are made by substrate-level phosphorylation. In aerobic organisms, pyruvate then enters the citric acid cycle, which helps produce the reduced coenzymes NADH and FADH2. These coenzymes are later oxidized in the electron transport chain to make ATP and regenerate NAD+ and FAD.

When oxygen is absent,...

Electron carriers help store and move energy during nutrient breakdown. Cells can save released energy by reducing these carriers or by making ATP, the cell’s main energy molecule. These mobile electron carriers bind high-energy electrons and shuttle them between compounds in metabolic pathways.

The main carriers discussed here come from the B vitamin group and are nucleotide derivatives. They include nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate, and flavin...

Nitrogen moves through soil, plants, animals, and microbes in a cycle that keeps this macronutrient available for life. It is a major part of proteins and nucleic acids, so cells need it to build both amino acids and nucleotides.

In nature, nitrogen is recycled from organic compounds and stored in several forms, including ammonia, ammonium ions, nitrate, nitrite, and nitrogen gas. Many of the key steps in this cycle are carried out only by prokaryotes. The largest nitrogen pool in terrestrial...

Fatty acids help cells store and use energy, and they also support important cell structures. Lipids are nonpolar and hydrophobic, so they do not mix well with water. Major lipid types include fats and oils, waxes, phospholipids, and steroids.

Cells break down fatty acids by beta-oxidation. This process happens in the matrix of the mitochondria and cuts fatty acid chains into two-carbon acetyl groups. CoA picks up these groups to form acetyl CoA, which then enters the citric acid cycle. Extra...

Glucose storage in plants and animals helps cells manage energy for metabolism. Sugar is a simple carbohydrate, and cells use it because a lot of energy is stored in its bonds. Consumed carbohydrates often come from photosynthesizing organisms, especially plants.

Plants make glucose during photosynthesis by using sunlight to convert carbon dioxide into sugar molecules. Because this builds a larger, energy-storing molecule, the process needs an energy input. Glucose can then be stored for later...

Triglycerides store long-term energy in fats. A triglyceride is built from glycerol and three fatty acids. When the body needs energy, these molecules are broken down first.

This breakdown is called lipolysis, and it happens in the cytoplasm by hydrolysis. Lipolysis splits triglycerides into fatty acids and glycerol. The glycerol then enters glycolysis as DHAP, which connects fat breakdown to the cell’s main energy pathway.

The fatty acids are then oxidized by beta-oxidation into acetyl-CoA.

Cells control metabolic enzymes to match changing needs and conditions. Different cells use different enzymes and energy levels, and those needs can also change within the same cell over time. Stomach cells, fat storage cells, skin cells, blood cells, and nerve cells do not all need the same metabolic activity. A digestive cell also works harder soon after a meal than it does many hours later.

As cell needs change, the amount and activity of enzymes change too. Enzymes lower activation energy,...

Homeostasis keeps body conditions in a steady range through feedback control. Animal organs and organ systems constantly adjust to internal and external changes. This balance is called a dynamic equilibrium because the body keeps adapting while still staying within specific ranges.

The goal of homeostasis is to stay near a set point, which is the value the body tries to maintain. A change in the internal or external environment is a stimulus. A receptor detects that change and sends a signal...