Chapter 7.

Bioenergetics and Metabolism

➢ Definition:- Total of all chemical changes that occur in body.
➢The reaction pathways that comprise metabolism are divided into
two categories.
Catabolism: degradation of molecules to provide energy.
Anabolism: reactions using energy to synthesize new molecules for
growth.
E.g. Glucose + Glucose
➢In catabolic reactions, complex substances are broken down to
simpler compounds with a concomitant release of free energy.
➢The released free energy during these catabolic reactions is
conserved in the form of ATP or NADPH.

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➢The major nutrients such as carbohydrates, lipids and proteins are
converted to common intermediate and further metabolized in a
central oxidative pathway.
➢The opposite process occurs during biosynthesis. Simple organic
molecules such as pyruvic acid, acetyl unit or intermediate compounds
of citric acid cycle serve as starting molecules for varied biosynthetic
products.
➢The energy rich molecules such as ATP or NADPH derived from
catabolic reactions are utilized in the biosynthetic reactions.

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 Catabolism and Anabolism

• Catabolic pathways converge to a few end products

• Anabolic pathways diverge to synthesize many biomolecules
• Some pathways serve both in catabolism and anabolism
• Such pathways are amphibolic

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 Metabolic Pathways
➢ The enzymatic reactions of metabolism
form a network of interconnected chemical
reactions, or pathways.

➢ The molecules of the pathway are called

intermediates because the products of one
reaction become the substrates of the next.

➢ Enzymes control the flow of energy

through a pathway.

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 Characteristics of Pathways

Irreversible
• First committed step (flux generating step)
• Regulated
• Localized in eukaryotes
• Catabolic and anabolic pathways are generally distinguished by
coenzymes and/ or compartmentalization.

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 Oxidation-Reduction Reactions

• Oxidation occurs via the loss of hydrogen or the gain of oxygen

• Whenever one substance is oxidized, another substance is reduced
• Oxidized substances lose energy
• Reduced substances gain energy
• Coenzymes act as hydrogen (or electron) acceptors
• Two important coenzymes are nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide
(NAD+) and flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD)

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 Stages of Metabolism
•Energy-containing nutrients are
processed in three major stages:
1. Digestion – breakdown of food;
nutrients are transported to tissues
2. Anabolism and formation of
catabolic intermediates where nutrients
are:
• Built into lipids, proteins, and
glycogen or
• Broken down by catabolic
pathways to pyruvic acid and
acetyl CoA.
3. Oxidative breakdown – nutrients
are catabolized to carbon dioxide,
water, and ATP

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 Metabolic Pathways are not at Equilibrium
➢ Metabolic pathways are not at equilibrium A > B
➢ Instead pathways are at steady state. A -> B -> C
✓ The rate of formation of B = rate of utilization of B.
✓ Maintains concentration of B at constant level.
➢ All pathway intermediates are in steady state.
➢ Concentration of intermediates remains constant even as flux
changes.

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 Thermodynamics and Metabolism
• Standard free energy A + B <-> C + D
• ∆Go’ =-RT ln[C][D]/[A][B]
• ∆Go’ = -RT ln Keq
• ∆Go’ < 0 (Keq>1.0) Spontaneous forward rxn
• ∆Go’ = 0 (Keq=1.0) Equilibrium
• ∆Go’ > 0 (Keq <1.0) Rxn requires input of energy

G (not∆ Go’) is impt in vivo

➢ ∆ G = ∆ Go’ + RT ln Q
➢ If ΔG is negative then the reaction is said to be exergonic reaction
✓ If ΔG is zero the system is at equilibrium.
✓ If ΔG is positive the reaction proceeds only with the free energy being gained-
endergonic . it posses low equilibrium constants
➢ Bioenergetics is the study of energy changes in a biochemical reaction
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•
•
ATP is the energy currency of cells
In phototrophs, light energy is
ATP
transformed into the light energy of
ATP
• In heterotrophs, catabolism produces
ATP, which drives activities of cells
• ATP cycle carries energy from
photosynthesis or catabolism to the
energy-requiring processes of cells

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 Phosphoric acid Anhydrides

• ADP and ATP are examples of

phosphoric acid anhydrides
• Large negative free energy change on
hydrolysis is due to:
– electrostatic repulsion
– stabilization of products by
ionization and resonance
– entropy factors

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 Phosphoryl-group Transfer

• Energy produced from a rxn can be coupled to another rxn that requires energy to
proceed.
• Transfer of a phosphate group from high energy phosphorylated compounds can
activate a substrate or intermediate of an energy requiring rxn.
A-P + ADP -> A + ATP, ATP +C -> ADP + C-P
• The ability of a phosphorylated compound to transfer a phosphoryl group is termed
its phosphoryl-group-transfer-potential.

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 Phosphoryl-group Transfer

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