pyruvic acid
The definitions used in this glossary of terminology either have been provided by the authors of the articles, or have been extracted wholly or in part, or paraphrased from the following sources: The American Medical Association Encyclopedia of Medicine, Charles B. Clayman, MD, Medical Editor, Random House, New York, 1989; Biotechnology from A to Z, 2d Edition, William Bains, Oxford University Press, New York, New York, 2002; A Dictionary of Genetics, 6th Edition, Robert C. King and William D. Stansfield, Oxford University Press, New York, New York, 2002; Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary, 29th and 30th Editions, W. B. Saunders Company, Philadelphia, 2000, 2003; Genes VII, Benjamin Lewin, Oxford University Press, New York, New York, 2000; The Gale Encyclopedia of Genetic Disorders, Volumes I and II, Stacey L. Blachford, Ed., Thomson Learning, New York, New York, 2002; The Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, Inc., Springfield, Massachusetts, 1997; Molecular Biology of the Cell, 3rd Edition, Bruce Alberts, et al., Garland Publishing, 1994; The Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged Edition, 1966; Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, 1991.
DEFINITION:
- pyruvic acid
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The a-ketopropionic acid, CH3COCOOH, the end product of the Embden-Meyerhof pathway of glucose metabolism, also produced by the catabolism of several amino acids. Pyruvate can be converted to acetyl coenzyme A, which can enter the tricarboxylic acid cycle for aerobic production of energy or be used for fatty acid synthesis. Energy can be obtained anaerobically by conversion of pyruvate to lactate (which occurs in mammalian muscle tissue) or to ethanol, small organic acids, and many other compounds (microbial fermentations). Pyruvate can also be converted to oxaloacetate, the first step in gluconeogenesis.
Used in 1 Term definition
Used in 1 Term definition