出典:Wiktionary
出典:『Wiktionary』 (2024/07/23 15:20 UTC 版)
metabolic pathway (plural metabolic pathways)
出典:『Wiktionary』 (2008/08/25 08:24 UTC 版)
出典:Wikipedia
出典:『Wikipedia』 (2011/07/19 14:27 UTC 版)
In biochemistry, metabolic pathways are series of chemical reactions occurring within a cell. In each pathway, a principal chemical is modified by a series of chemical reactions. Enzymes catalyze these reactions, and often require dietary minerals, vitamins, and other cofactors in order to function properly. Because of the many chemicals (a.k.a. "metabolites") that may be involved, metabolic pathways can be quite elaborate. In addition, numerous distinct pathways co-exist within a cell. This collection of pathways is called the metabolic network. Pathways are important to the maintenance of homeostasis within an organism. Catabolic (break-down) and Anabolic (synthesis) pathways often work interdependently to create new biomolecules as the final end-products.