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Pyruvic acid (CH3COCOOH) is the simplest of the alpha-keto acids, with a carboxylic acid and a ketone functional group. Pyruvate, the conjugate base, CH3COCOO−, is an intermediate in several metabolic pathways throughout the cell.
Pyruvic acid can be made from glucose through glycolysis, converted back to carbohydrates (such as glucose) via gluconeogenesis, or converted to fatty acids through a reaction with acetyl-CoA.<ref>Template:Cite bookTemplate:ISBN missing</ref> It can also be used to construct the amino acid alanine and can be converted into ethanol or lactic acid via fermentation.
Pyruvic acid supplies energy to cells through the citric acid cycle (also known as the Krebs cycle) when oxygen is present (aerobic respiration), and alternatively ferments to produce lactate when oxygen is lacking.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
ChemistryEdit
In 1834, Théophile-Jules Pelouze distilled tartaric acid and isolated glutaric acid and another unknown organic acid. Jöns Jacob Berzelius characterized this other acid the following year and named pyruvic acid because it was distilled using heat.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The correct molecular structure was deduced by the 1870s.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Pyruvic acid is a colorless liquid with a smell similar to that of acetic acid and is miscible with water.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In the laboratory, pyruvic acid may be prepared by heating a mixture of tartaric acid and potassium hydrogen sulfate,<ref>Template:OrgSynth</ref> by the oxidation of propylene glycol by a strong oxidizer (e.g., potassium permanganate or bleach), or by the hydrolysis of acetyl cyanide, formed by reaction of acetyl chloride with potassium cyanide:Template:Citation needed
- CH3COCl + KCN → CH3COCN + KCl
- CH3COCN → CH3COCOOH
BiochemistryEdit
Template:Citations needed Pyruvate is an important chemical compound in biochemistry. It is the output of the metabolism of glucose known as glycolysis.<ref name="lehninger528">Template:Cite book</ref> One molecule of glucose breaks down into two molecules of pyruvate,<ref name="lehninger528" /> which are then used to provide further energy, in one of two ways. Pyruvate is converted into acetyl-coenzyme A, which is the main input for a series of reactions known as the Krebs cycle (also known as the citric acid cycle or tricarboxylic acid cycle). Pyruvate is also converted to oxaloacetate by an anaplerotic reaction, which replenishes Krebs cycle intermediates; also, the oxaloacetate is used for gluconeogenesis.Template:Citation needed
These reactions are named after Hans Adolf Krebs, the biochemist awarded the 1953 Nobel Prize for physiology, jointly with Fritz Lipmann, for research into metabolic processes. The cycle is also known as the citric acid cycle or tricarboxylic acid cycle, because citric acid is one of the intermediate compounds formed during the reactions.Template:Citation needed
If insufficient oxygen is available, the acid is broken down anaerobically, creating lactate in animals and ethanol in plants and microorganisms (and in carp<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>). Pyruvate from glycolysis is converted by fermentation to lactate using the enzyme lactate dehydrogenase and the coenzyme NADH in lactate fermentation, or to acetaldehyde (with the enzyme pyruvate decarboxylase) and then to ethanol in alcoholic fermentation.Template:Citation needed
Pyruvate is a key intersection in the network of metabolic pathways. Pyruvate can be converted into carbohydrates via gluconeogenesis, to fatty acids or energy through acetyl-CoA, to the amino acid alanine, and to ethanol. Therefore, it unites several key metabolic processes.Template:Citation needed
Pyruvic acid production by glycolysisEdit
In the last step of glycolysis, phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) is converted to pyruvate by pyruvate kinase. This reaction is strongly exergonic and irreversible; in gluconeogenesis, it takes two enzymes, pyruvate carboxylase and PEP carboxykinase, to catalyze the reverse transformation of pyruvate to PEP.Template:Citation needed Template:Enzymatic reaction Template:KEGG compound Template:KEGG enzyme Template:KEGG compound
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Decarboxylation to acetyl CoAEdit
Pyruvate decarboxylation by the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex produces acetyl-CoA. Template:Enzymatic Reaction
Carboxylation to oxaloacetateEdit
Carboxylation by pyruvate carboxylase produces oxaloacetate. Template:Enzymatic Reaction
Transamination to alanineEdit
Transamination by alanine transaminase produces alanine. Template:Enzymatic Reaction
Reduction to lactateEdit
Reduction by lactate dehydrogenase produces lactate. Template:Enzymatic Reaction
Environmental chemistryEdit
Pyruvic acid is an abundant carboxylic acid in secondary organic aerosols.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
UsesEdit
Pyruvate is sold as a weight-loss supplement, though credible science has yet to back this claim. A systematic review of six trials found a statistically significant difference in body weight with pyruvate compared to placebo. However, all of the trials had methodological weaknesses and the magnitude of the effect was small. The review also identified adverse events associated with pyruvate such as diarrhea, bloating, gas, and increase in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. The authors concluded that there was insufficient evidence to support the use of pyruvate for weight loss.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
There is also in vitro as well as in vivo evidence in hearts that pyruvate improves metabolism by NADH production stimulation and increases cardiac function.<ref name="Functional response of the isolated, perfused normoxic heart to pyruvate dehydrogenase activation by dichloroacetate and pyruvate.">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
See alsoEdit
NotesEdit
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
Template:Glycolysis Template:Amino acid metabolism intermediates