Fatty acids, metabolized to the molecule acetyl-CoA, are the major input for the Citric Acid Cycle that provides our bodies with cellular energy.
Ciitric Acid Cycle
-
The Citric Acid pattern, or Kreb’s cycle, is a series of chemical reactions that create basic materials and power for cell survival. The starting factor of the citric acid cycle is the molecule acetyl-Co-enzyme A, or acetyl-CoA.
Fatty Acids
-
Dietary fats (triacylglycerols) are three linked particles of fatty acids. Fats are broken down by a process called beta oxidation to the particles fatty acyl-CoA and also acetyl Co-A, the starting factor of the citric acid cycle.
Fatty Acid Oxidation
-
In a series of four chemical reactions, beta oxidation of a fatty acid yields a fatty acyl-CoA that is 2 carbon atoms much shorter than the initial fatty acid, plus one particle of acetyl-CoA. The series of reactions continues till the fatty acyl-CoA is totally reduced up into acetyl-CoA.
Acetyl-CoA
-
Acetyl-CoA originates from the break down of fatty acids, carbohydrates and amino acids. In the initial step of the citric acid pattern, acetyl-CoA is converted to citrate.
Fun Fact
-
Fats are much better power resources compared to sugar: the chemical break-down of fats in the citric acid pattern yields 6 times more cellular power than an equivalent weight of glycogen (the storage space form of glucose).
