1.       Glycolysis is a sequence of 10 enzyme-catalyzed reactions – glucose à pyruvate

2.       The conversion of one molecule of glucose to two molecyles of pyruvate is accompanied by the net version of 2 molecules of ADP to 2 molecules of ATP and the production of 2 mol of NADH

3.       The enzymes found in all living species and are located in the cytosol.

4.       The glycolytic pathway is active in all differentiated cell types in multicellular organisms.

5.       The net reaction of glycoloysis is:
Glucose + 2 ADP + 2NAD⁺ + 2P à 2 Pyruvate + 2ATP + 2NADH + 2H⁺ + 2H₂0

6.       The reactions of glycolysis can be divided into 2 stages : The hexose stage and triose stage.

7.       In the hexose stages – 2 molecules of ATP are converted to ADP.

8.       In triose stage, 4 molecules of ATP are formed from ADP for each molecule of glucose metabolized.

9.       Therefore, glycolysis create two molecules of ATP.

The ten Enzyme-Catalyzed Step of Glycolysis

The fate of pyruvate

1.       Further metabolism of pyruvate typically takes one of four routes.

                     i.            Acetyl CoA – by the action of pyruvate dehydrogenase. Can be used in variety of metabolic pathway. For example; completely oxidized to CO₂ in the citric acid cycle (Kreb cycle).

                   ii.            Carboxylated to produced oxaloacetate. Oxaloacetate is one of the citric acid cycle intermediates, but it is also an intermediate in the synthesis of glucose.

                  iii.            Reduced to ethanol, excreted from cells. The reaction takes place under anaerobic conditions where entry of acetyl CoA into the citric acid cycle is unfavourable

                 iv.            Reduced to lactate. Lactate can be transported to cells that convert it back to pyruvate for entry into one of the other pathway. This is aloes an anaerobic pathway.