BIOENERGETICS

HOW THE BODY CONVERTS FOOD TO ENERGY

Geromil J. Lara, RMT, MSMT

 METABOLISM
• Is the sum total of all the chemical
reactions involved in maintaining the
dynamic state of the cell
– Metabolic Reactions
• Those in which molecules are broken
down to provide the energy needed
by cells – catabolism
• Those that synthesize the
compounds needed by cells –
anabolism
 METABOLISM
• Biochemical Pathway
– Is a series of consecutive biochemical
reactions
• Carbohydrates
• Lipids
• Proteins

• Common Catabolic Pathway

– To convert the chemical energy in food
to molecules of ATP
 METABOLISM
• Principal Compounds of the
Common Catabolic Pathway
– Common Catabolic Pathway

• Citric Acid Cycle

• Oxidative Phosphorylation Pathway

– Electron Transport Chain
– Phosphorylation
 METABOLISM
• Principal Compounds of the
Common Catabolic Pathway
– Agents for Storage of Energy and
Transfer of Phosphate Groups

• Adenosine Monophosphate (AMP)

• Adenosine Diphosphate (ADP)
• Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP)
 METABOLISM
• Principal Compounds of the
Common Catabolic Pathway
– Agents for Transfer of Electrons in
Biological Oxidation-Reduction
Reactions
• Coenzymes
– NAD+ (nicotinamide adenine
dinucleotide)
– FAD (flavin adenine dinucleotide)
» Contain and ADP core
 METABOLISM
• Principal Compounds of the
Common Catabolic Pathway
– Agent for Transfer of Acetyl Groups

• Coenzyme A
– Final principal compound
– Acetyl (CCH3CO–)-transporting
molecule
– Contains ADP
 CATABOLISM
• Stage I: Hydrolysis of Dietary
Macromolecules into Small Subunits

– To degrade large food molecules into

their component subunits
• Simple sugars, amino acids, fatty
acids, and glycerol

• Digestive processes
 CATABOLISM
• Stage II: Conversion of Monomers
into a Form that can be Completely
Oxidized
– Monosaccharides, amino acids, and
glycerol are assimilated into the
pathways of energy metabolism

• Glycolysis
• Citric Acid Cycle (Tricarboxylic Acid Cycle
or Kreb’s Cycle)
 CATABOLISM
• Stage II: Conversion of Monomers
into a Form that can be Completely
Oxidized
– Sugars – usually enter the glycolysis
pathway in the form of glucose or
fructose
– Eventually converted to acetyl-
CoA, which can be completely oxidized
in the citric acid cycle
 CATABOLISM
• Stage II: Conversion of Monomers
into a Form that can be Completely
Oxidized
– Amino groups – are removed from
amino acids
– Remaining carbon skeletons enter the
catabolic processes at many steps of
the citric acid cycle
 CATABOLISM
• Stage II: Conversion of Monomers
into a Form that can be Completely
Oxidized

– Fatty acids – are converted to acetyl-

CoA and enter the citric acid cycle in
that form
 CATABOLISM
• Stage II: Conversion of Monomers
into a Form that can be Completely
Oxidized
– Glycerol – produced by the hydrolysis
of fats
– Converted to glyceraldehyde-3-
phosphate (one of the intermediates of
glycolysis)
– Enters energy metabolism
 CATABOLISM
• Stage III: The Complete Oxidation of
Nutrients and the Production of ATP
– Acetyl CoA – carries 2-carbon remnants
of the nutrients, acetyl groups, to the
citric acid cycle
– Electrons and hydrogen atoms are
harvested during the complete
oxidation of the acetyl group to CO2
• Used in the process of oxidative
phosphorylation to produce ATP
 (1) GLYCOLYSIS
• Also known as the Embden-Meyerhof
Pathway
• A pathway for carbohydrate catabolism
that begins with the substrate D-glucose
– Anaerobic process
– 10 steps

– 3 Major Products
• ATP – chemical energy
• NADH – chemical energy
• 2 three-carbon pyruvate
Goodness
Gracious,
Franklin Did Go
By Picking
Pumpkins (to)
Prepare Pies
ENZYME MNEMONICS

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PENTOSE PHOSPHATE PATHWAY
• An alternative pathway for glucose
oxidation
• It provides the cell with energy in the form
of reducing power for biosynthesis
– NADPH is produced in the oxidative stage
• Reducing agent required for many biosynthetic
pathways

• Provides sugar phosphates that are required for

biosynthesis
• Most active in tissues involved in cholesterol and
fatty acid biosynthesis