Essential nutrients
These are the organic compounds present in the food that provide nourishment essential for the development and growth of our body. Nutrients not only provide us with the required energy to carry out various biological processes but are also the building blocks for repair and growth in our bodies.
Vitamins
The vitamins are organic molecules required in low concentration for the proper functioning of the body. They cannot be generated in the organism and are taken into the body through the diet. The lack of proper vitamins results in diverse deficiency disorders. They are thus called essential nutrients. The important vitamins are vitamin A, vitamin B complex, vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin K, and vitamin E.
Explain how the biosynthesis of fatty acids from carbohydrates works(starting with the ingestion of starch and ending with a fatty acid).
When the level of glucose is high in the body, the excess amount of Acetyl CoA produced by the glycolysis, can be converted into triglycerides, steroids, cholesterol and fatty acids. The process of formation of fatty acids from Acetyl CoA is known as Lipogenesis. It takes place in the cytoplasm of the liver (hepatocytes) and fat (adipocytes) cells. It is an anabolic process, consuming ATP.
Lipogenesis starts with Acetyl CoA, which is created in the mitochondria and is taken to the cytoplasm. The transport of Acetyl CoA from mitochondria to cytoplasm is not easy. Hence, pyruvate is converted into both, Acetyl CoA and Oxaloacetate. They both combine to form Citrate, which has the ability to cross mitochondrial membrane. As soon as it enters into the cytoplasm, citrate dissociates back to form OAA and Acetyl CoA.
- OAA converts into Malate and further, into Pyruvate, which acts as a precursor for the next cycle of Lipogenesis. However, Acetyl CoA converts into Malonyl CoA with the help of the enzyme, Acetyl CoA Carboxylase (ACC).
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