[cs_content][cs_section parallax=”false” separator_top_type=”none” separator_top_height=”50px” separator_top_angle_point=”50″ separator_bottom_type=”none” separator_bottom_height=”50px” separator_bottom_angle_point=”50″ style=”margin: 0px;padding: 45px 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][cs_text]The Biochemistry of Movement > 9.7.6. Fats are oxidised to release energy in cells > The Decomposition of Fatty Acids >[/cs_text][cs_text style=”color: #800000;font-family: “Oxygen”,sans-serif;”]Explain that the decomposition of fatty acids occurs by oxidative removal of 2-carbon fragments and identify the 2-carbon fragments as part of acetyl-CoA[/cs_text][cs_text]
- Fatty acids are broken down, with acetyl-CoA as the end product of their oxidation.
- Fatty acid oxidation occurs through the repeated removal of a 2-carbon fragment, each time leaving a fatty acid with two less carbons in its chain. This continues until the entire chain is broken down.
- Since naturally occurring fatty acids have even numbers of carbons, the only product will be acetyl-CoA.
- The 2-carbon fragments end up in the acetyl part CH3CO, which is attached through Sulfur to the rest of the Coenzyme A molecule.
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