Answer to Question #117290 in Biochemistry for ameera

Question

What happens to Glycerol released from triacylglycerols after lipase action? How does β-Oxidation of Fatty Acids to provide energy?

Answer 1

To obtain energy from fat, triglycerides must first be broken down by hydrolysis into their two principal components, fatty acids and glycerol. This process, called lipolysis, take place in the cytoplasm. Resulting fatty acids are oxidized by beta-oxidation into acetyl CoA, which is used by the Krebs cycle. Glycerol which is released from triglycerides after lipolysis directly enters the glycolysis pathway as DHAP. Because one triglyceride molecule yields three fatty acid molecules with 16 or more carbons in each one, fat molecules yield more energy than carbohydrates and are an important source of energy for the human body.

Breakdown of fatty acids, called fatty acid oxidation or beta-oxidation, begins in the cytoplasm, where fatty acids are converted into fatty acyl CoA molecules. This fatty acyl CoA combines with carnitine to create a fatty acyl mitochondrial matrix. The fatty acyl carnitine molecule is converted back into fatty acyl CoA and then into acetyl CoA. Newly formed CoA enters the Krebs cycle and is used to produce ATP in the same way as acetyl CoA derived from pyruvate.