METABOLISM

Ainun Nafisah

Department of Food Technology

Faculty of Agriculture
Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa University
2021
Catabolism: The
Breakdown of
Macro-nutrients
for Energy
Stages 1-4
An Introduction to Cellular Metabolism
Metabolic Turnover and Cellular ATP
Production
Nutrient Use in Cellular Metabolism
Lipid Synthesis
Lipid Transport and Utilization
A Summary of the Pathways of Catabolism
and Anabolism
The Absorptive State
 Metabolic Division of Labor
Among the Major Organs

Brain Metabolism

• The brain must generate ATP in large quantities to maintain the

membrane potentials essential for transmission of nerve impulses.
• Under normal conditions the brain uses only glucose to meet its
energy requirements, which amounts to about 60% of the glucose
utilization of a human at rest.
• The brain's need for about 120 grams of glucose per day is equivalent
to 1760 kJ-about 15% of the total energy consumed each day.
• The brain is a highly aerobic organ and its metabolism utilizes some
20% of the total oxygen consumed by a human.
• The brain can adapt during fasting to use ketone bodies instead of
glucose as a major fuel.
 Metabolic Division of Labor
Among the Major Organs

Muscle Metabolism

• Muscle can utilize a variety of fuels-glucose, fatty acids, and ketone

bodies.
• In resting muscle, fatty acids represent the major energy source; during
exertion, glucose is the primary source. Early in a period of exertion,
glucose comes from mobilization of the muscle's glycogen reserves.
• Skeletal muscle stores about three-fourths of the total glycogen in
humans, with most of the rest being stored in the liver.
• During exertion, the rate of glycolysis in muscle exceeds that of the
citric acid cycle, so lactate accumulates and is released. Another
metabolic product is alanine, produced via transamination from
pyruvate in the glucose - alanine cycle.
• Both lactate and alanine are transported through the bloodstream to the
liver, where they are reconverted through gluconeogenesis to glucose.
 Metabolic Division of Labor
Among the Major Organs

Heart Metabolism

• The heart uses a variety of fuels-mainly fatty acids but also glucose,
lactate, and ketone bodies.
• Metabolism of heart muscle differs from that of skeletal muscle in three
important respects.
1. That is, the heart must work steadily and continuously in order to
keep the organisms alive.
2. The heart is a completely aerobic tissue, whereas skeletal muscle
can function anaerobically for limited periods.
3. The heart contains negligible energy reserves as glycogen or lipid,
although there is a small amount of creatine phosphate.
• The supply of both oxygen and fuels from the blood to the heart must be
continuous to meet its unending energy demands.
 Metabolic Division of Labor
Among the Major Organs
Adipose Tissue Metabolism

• Adipose tissue is the major fuel storage tissue for an animal. The total
stored triacylglycerols amount to some 565,000 kJ (135,000 kcal) in an
average-sized human.
• The adipocyte, or fat cell, is designed for continuous synthesis and
breakdown of triacylglycerols, with breakdown controlled largely via the
activation of hormone-sensitive lipase.
• Glucose acts as a sensor in adipose tissue metabolism:
• When glucose levels are adequate, the production of
dihydroxyacetone phosphate generates enough glycerol-3-phosphate
for the resynthesis of triacylglycerols from the released fatty acids.
• When intracellular glucose levels fall, the concentration of glycerol-3-
phosphate falls also, and fatty acids are released from the adipocyte
as the albumin complex for export to other tissues).
 Metabolic Division of Labor
Among the Major Organs

Liver Metabolism

• One of the most important roles of the liver is to serve as a "glucostat,"

monitoring and stabilizing blood glucose levels. To meet its internal
energy needs, the liver can use a variety of fuel sources, including
glucose, fatty acids, and amino acids.
• A primary role of liver is the synthesis of fuel components for use by
other organs. Compounds synthesized in the liver include the following:
1. Fatty acids - The liver is a major site for fatty acid synthesis.
2. Glucose - The liver produces glucose, both from its own glycogen
stores and from gluconeogenesis, the latter using lactate and
alanine from muscle, glycerol from adipose tissue, and the amino
acids not needed for protein synthesis
3. Ketone bodies - Ketone bodies are also manufactured largely in
the liver.
 Metabolic Division of Labor
Among the Major Organs
Blood Metabolism

• Glycolysis in the erythrocyte is the most prominent pathway in the

energy metabolism of blood. Blood cells constitute nearly half the
volume of blood, and erythrocytes constitute more than 99% of blood
cells.
• Blood also plays a role in transporting compounds metabolized in other
tissues :
1. Blood transports waste products/fuels. The bloodstream transports
what may be one organ's waste product but another organ's fuel.
2. Blood transports oxygen from lungs to tissues, followed by transport
of the resultant CO2 back to the lungs for exhalation.
3. The lipoprotein components of blood plasma play indispensable roles
in transporting lipids.
4. Blood is also the medium of transport of hormonal signals from one
tissue to another.
Hormonal Regulation of Fuel Metabolism
THANK YOU