Human metabolism:

carbohydrates, fats and

proteins
Introduction
• In accordance with the principle of energy conservation, energy
extracted from food is harnessed for energy-consuming processes
such as mechanical work, biosynthesis, active transport and protein
phosphorylation.
• The link between the metabolism of fuels and the consumption of
energy is provided by the high-energy compound ATP and metabolic
pathways are strictly regulated to ensure maintenance of appropriate
levels of ATP.
Carbohydrate metabolism
• Carbohydrates are the only fuels that can be respired anaerobically
and, moreover, glucose represents the most accessible energy source
for many cells and tissues, most notably the brain and the
erythrocyte.
• Forms of Carbohydrate
Glucose Metabolism
• Glucose is a versatile fuel: not only can it be consumed by all tissues,
but it can also be respired anaerobically, unlike fats or proteins.
• Aerobic and anaerobic respiration of glucose share the initial pathway
of glycolysis in the cytosol. In the absence of O2, glycolysis leads to
the conversion of 1 mole of glucose to 2 moles of lactate.
• This conversion brings about the formation of ATP via substrate-level
phosphorylation and the production of the reduced co-factor
nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH).
• All glucose metabolism begins with the anaerobic cytosolic pathway
of glycolysis
Glycolysis
• Under anaerobic conditions, pyruvate is reduced to lactate (Figure
9.3). Indeed, the appearance of lactate in the bloodstream is often
used as an indicator of the occurrence of anaerobic respiration
 Aerobic Metabolism: Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Reaction and
Tricarboxylic Acid Cycle

• Under aerobic conditions, the product of the glycolytic pathway is

pyruvate, which becomes the substrate for the remaining steps of the
oxidative metabolism that take place within the mitochondrion
• Anaerobic Tissues
Carbohydrate Metabolism during
Starvation

- During starvation, the body has

access to huge fat reserves (which
are metabolised to acetyl CoA) but to
very little carbohydrate.