tricarboxylic acid cycle
Last reviewed 01/2018
The tricarboxylic acid cycle is a cyclical series of reactions whereby acetate residues are oxidized to yield energy and carbon dioxide. All the reactions take place within mitochondria.
The cycle functions as:
- a final common pathway of fat, carbohydrate and protein metabolism
- the source of a number of carbon chain intermediates e.g.:
- succinyl-CoA can produce porphyrins
- oxaloglutarate and oxaloacetate can produce amino acids
- the major source of energy production in a cell respiring aerobically