Aglucogenic amino acid (orglucoplastic amino acid[1]) is anamino acid that can be converted intoglucose throughgluconeogenesis.[2][3] This is in contrast to theketogenic amino acids, which are converted intoketone bodies.
The production of glucose from glucogenic amino acids involves these amino acids being converted toalpha keto acids and then to glucose, with both processes occurring in the liver. This mechanism predominates duringcatabolysis, rising asfasting andstarvation increase in severity.
As an example, consider alanine.Alanine is a glucogenic amino acid that the liver's gluconeogenesis process can use to produce glucose.
Muscle cells break down their protein when their blood glucose levels fall, which happens during fasting or periods of intense exercise. The breakdown process releasesalanine, which is then transferred to the liver. Through atransamination process, alanine is changed into pyruvate in the liver. Following this, pyruvate is transformed intooxaloacetate, a crucial step in thegluconeogenesis process.[citation needed] It is possible to synthesize glucose from oxaloacetate, ensuring that the blood glucose levels required for the body to produce energy are maintained.
In humans, the glucogenic amino acids are:
Amino acids that are both glucogenic and ketogenic, known as amphibolic (mnemonic "PITTT"):
Onlyleucine andlysine are not glucogenic (they are onlyketogenic).
Glucogenic and ketogenic amino acids are classified according to the metabolic pathways they enter after being broken down. Glucogenic amino acids can be converted into intermediates that feed the gluconeogenesis metabolic pathway, which produces glucose. When necessary, these amino acids can be used to generate glucose. As previously stated, because they can be transformed into glucose via a variety of metabolic pathways, the majority of amino acids (apart from leucine and lysine) are regarded as glucogenic. Alternatively, the breakdown of ketogenic amino acids results in the ketogenic precursors acetyl-CoA and acetoacetate. These substances undergo a process calledketogenesis that produces ketone bodies like acetoacetate, beta-hydroxybutyrate, and acetone.[4]
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