MISAMIS UNIVERSITY Prepared by: Document Code: Module

Ozamiz City VICTORIA E. MATUNOG MU-CM-LM- Reference No.

Office of the Vice President Faculty BCHE1 10
for Academic Affairs Checked by: Revision Date: Units: 3.0
COLLEGE OF MEDICAL EVANGELINE M. SENEDO June 10, 2020
TECHNOLOGY Program Chairman
Reviewed by: Revision No.: Subject Code:
EVANGELINE M. SENEDO 0 BCHE1
LEARNING Dean
MODULE Approved by: Prerequisite: Co-requisite:
CYNTHIA S. SUPERABLE, CHE1M None
DScN, Ed.D.
VPAA/Director for Instruction
Descriptive Title: Biochemistry for Med Lab Science

Module 3.2
ILLUSTRATING THE CATABOLIC REACTIONS OF THE BIOMOLECULES AND
THE EFFECT OF VITAMINS, POISONS, AND DRUGS

I. Course Outcome : CO3. Illustrate some coordination mechanisms among

cells/organs to maintain the biological integrity of the living
body.
II. Learning Outcome/s : LO3.2. Illustrate the catabolic reactions of the biomolecules and
the effect of vitamins, poisons, and drugs.
III. Time Frame : 6.0 hrs
IV. Introduction :
In this session, you will answer an activity sheet comprised customized schematic
diagram on the overall catabolism of the biomolecules (with narration and a modified multiple
choice where the answer will be justified (rationale). Rubrics will be used to rate both the
diagram and the justification.
Below are key terms and concepts for reading. Details of these concepts are discussed
further in the hand-outs attached herein.

Metabolism

Metabolism is defined as the sum of all chemical reactions used by an organism to grow,
feed, move, excrete wastes and communicate.
.
Anabolism

Anabolism includes all reactions leading to the synthesis of biomolecules.

Catabolism

Catabolism includes all reactions leading to the breakdown of biomolecules.

Metabolic Pathways

Metabolic Pathways refers to an orderly, carefully, regulated, sequences of all reactions

of a cell or organism. Anabolic pathways build complex molecules from simpler ones and
typically need an input of energy. Building glucose from carbon dioxide is one example. Other
examples include the synthesis of proteins from amino acids, or of DNA strands from nucleic
acid building blocks (nucleotides). These biosynthetic processes are critical to the life of the
cell, take place constantly, and use energy carried by ATP and other short-term energy storage
molecules. Catabolic pathways involve the breakdown of complex molecules into simpler ones
and typically release energy. Energy stored in the bonds of complex molecules, such as glucose
and fats, is released in catabolic pathways. It's then harvested in forms that can power the work
of the cell (for instance, through the synthesis of ATP).

Digestion
Digestion is the process by which food molecules are broken down into smaller soluble
molecules that can be absorbed into the blood through intestinal walls.

Glycolysis

Glycolysis is a series of reactions that extract energy from glucose by splitting it into
two three-carbon molecules called pyruvates. It is an ancient metabolic pathway, meaning that
it evolved long ago, and it is found in the great majority of organisms alive today. In organisms
that perform cellular respiration, glycolysis is the first stage of this process. However,
glycolysis doesn’t require oxygen, and many anaerobic organisms—organisms that do not use
oxygen—also have this pathway.

Tricarboxylic acid cycle

The tricarboxylic acid cycle, (TCA cycle), also called the Krebs cycle and citric acid
cycle, the second stage of cellular respiration, the three-stage process by which living cells
break down organic fuel molecules in the presence of oxygen to harvest the energy they need to
grow and divide. This metabolic process occurs in most plants, animals, fungi, and many
bacteria. In all organisms except bacteria, the TCA cycle is carried out in the matrix of
intracellular structures called mitochondria.

Electron transport chain (ETC)

The electron transport chain is a series of electron transporters embedded in the inner
mitochondrial membrane that shuttles electrons from NADH and FADH 2 to molecular oxygen.
In the process, protons are pumped from the mitochondrial matrix to the intermembrane space,
and oxygen is reduced to form water.

β-oxidation of fatty acids

In biochemistry and metabolism, beta-oxidation is the catabolic process by which fatty

acid molecules are broken down in the cytosol in prokaryotes and in the mitochondria in
eukaryotes to generate acetyl-CoA, which enters the citric acid cycle, and NADH and FADH 2,
which are co-enzymes used in the electron transport chain. It is named as such because the beta
carbon of the fatty acid undergoes oxidation to a carbonyl group. Beta-oxidation is primarily
facilitated by the mitochondrial trifunctional protein, an enzyme complex associated with the
inner mitochondrial membrane, although very-long-chain fatty acids are oxidized in
peroxisomes.

Degradation of amino acids

Oxidative deamination

Oxidative deamination is the first step to breaking down the amino acids so that they can
be converted to sugars. The process begins by removing the amino group of the amino acids.
The amino group becomes ammonium as it is lost and later undergoes the urea cycle to become
urea, in the liver. It is then released into the bloodstream, where it is transferred to the kidneys,
which will secrete the urea as urine. The remaining portion of the amino acid becomes oxidized,
resulting in an alpha-keto acid. The alpha-keto acid will then proceed into the TCA cycle, in
order to produce energy. The acid can also enter glycolysis, where it will be eventually
converted into pyruvate. The pyruvate is then converted into acetyl-CoA so that it can enter the
TCA cycle and convert the original pyruvate molecules into ATP, or usable energy for the
organism.

Transamination

Transamination leads to the same end result as deamination: the remaining acid will
undergo either glycolysis or the TCA cycle to produce energy that the organism's body will use
for various purposes. This process transfers the amino group instead of losing the amino group
to be converted into ammonium. The amino group is transferred to alpha-ketoglutarate so that it
can be converted to glutamate. Then glutamate transfers the amino group to oxaloacetate. This
transfer is so that the oxaloacetate can be converted to aspartate or other amino acids.
Eventually, this product will also proceed into oxidative deamination to once again produce
alpha-ketoglutarate, an alpha-keto acid that will undergo the TCA cycle, and ammonium, which
will eventually undergo the urea cycle.

Transaminases are enzymes that help catalyze the reactions that take place in
transamination. They help catalyze the reaction at the point when the amino group is transferred
from the original amino acid, like glutamate to alpha-ketoglutarate, and hold onto it to transfer
it to another alpha-ketoacid.

The breakdown of DNA and RNA

The breakdown of DNA and RNA is occurring continuously in the cell. Purine and
pyrimidine nucleosides can either be degraded to waste products and excreted or can be
salvaged as nucleotide components.

Pyrimidine catabolism

Cytosine and uracil are converted into beta-alanine and later to malonyl-CoA which is
needed for fatty acid synthesis, among other things. Thymine, on the other hand, is converted
into β-aminoisobutyric acid which is then used to form methylmalonyl-CoA. The leftover
carbon skeletons such as acetyl-CoA and Succinyl-CoA can then be oxidized by the citric acid
cycle. Pyrimidine degradation ultimately ends in the formation of ammonium, water,
and carbon dioxide. The ammonium can then enter the urea cycle which occurs in the cytosol
and the mitochondria of cells.

Pyrimidine bases can also be salvaged. For example, the uracil base can be combined
with ribose-1-phosphate to create uridine monophosphate or UMP. A similar reaction can also
be done with thymine and deoxyribose-1-phosphate.

Deficiencies in enzymes involved in pyrimidine catabolism can lead to diseases such

as Dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase deficiency which has negative neurological effects.

Purine catabolism

Purine degradation takes place mainly in the liver of humans and requires an assortment
of enzymes to degrade purines to uric acid. First, the nucleotide will lose its phosphate
through 5'-nucleotidase. The nucleoside, adenosine, is then deaminated and hydrolyzed to
form hypoxanthine via adenosine deaminase and nucleosidase respectively. Hypoxanthine is
then oxidized to form xanthine and then uric acid through the action of xanthine oxidase. The
other purine nucleoside, guanosine, is cleaved to form guanine. Guanine is then deaminated
via guanine deaminase to form xanthine which is then converted to uric acid. Oxygen is the
final electron acceptor in the degradation of both purines. Uric acid is then excreted from the
body in different forms depending on the animal.
Free purine and pyrimidine bases that are released into the cell are typically transported
intercellularly across membranes and salvaged to create more nucleotides via nucleotide
salvage. Defects in purine catabolism can result in a variety of diseases including gout, which
stems from an accumulation of uric acid crystals in various joints, and adenosine deaminase
deficiency, which causes immunodeficiency.

V. Learning Materials : 1. Writing Materials: Pen, paper

VI. Supplementary
Learning Resources : A. Books
1. Introduction to Organic Chemistry (2011)
2. General, Organic and Biochemistry.5thed (2007)
3. Biochemistry.3rd ed (2009)
4. General, Organic and Biological Chemistry.Intn’l Ed
(2016)
5. Biochemistry.Philippine Ed (2017)
6. General, Organic and Biochemistry. 7th Ed. (2016)

B. Website Address/URL
1. http://www.freebookcentre.net/chemistry-books-
download/Principles-of-Biochemistry-Lecture-Notes.html
2. http://biochem.science.oregonstate.edu/files/biochem/
ahern/Biochemistry%20Free%20For%20All%201.
1compressed.pdf
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK26883/
4. https://www.saddleback.edu/faculty/jzoval/myppt
 lectures/ch15_metabolism/lecture_notes_ch15_
metabolism_current-v2.0.pdf

VII. Learning Activities : 1. School-based Activities (1.5 hrs)

1.1 Participative discussion
A. Guide Questions:
a. What is metabolism? metabolic pathway? catabolism?
anabolism? ATP? Coenzyme-A? NAD+/NADH
conenzymes? FAD/FADH2 coenzymes?
hyperglycemic? hypoglycemic? insulin? glucagon?
type I diabetes? type II diabetes? and gestational
diabetes? glycogenolysis? oxidative phosphorylation?
malate-aspartate shuttle? glycerol 3-phosphate shuttle?
Lipolysis? Ketosis? and ketoacidosis?
2. Home-based Activities (1.5 hrs)
1.1 Read through the handouts, “Lesson 3.7: “Catabolism”
A. Answer Activity Sheet 3.7A. Modified Multiple Choice
questions.
3. School-based Activities (1.5 hrs)
3.1 Participative discussion
A. Guide Questions:
a. What are the four stages in the degradation of
foodstuffs?
b. Describe how the metabolic pathways are being
regulated: glycolysis, TCA cycle, ETC, β-oxidation,
oxidative deamination and trans amination.
c. How the body controls blood glucose concentration?
d.How many ATP are formed when a given fatty acid
undergoes the β-oxidation?
4. Home-based Activities (1.5 hrs)
1.1 Read through the handouts,cont. “Lesson 3.7:
“Catabolism”
A. Answer Activity Sheet 3.7 B. Schematic Diagram.
VIII. Equipment : None
IX. Student Feedback : Your feedback is important. Please don’t leave this blank. This
portion will allow us to evaluate how this module is going. Your
feedback will help improve this module for future revision.

1. Which part of this module you found interesting? Why?

2. Which part of this module you considered challenging? Why?