Question

Atkins diet promotes a very low carbohydrate intake. Since the RBCs depend entirely on glucose and the brain heavily depends on glucose, what is the largest source of carbons for gluconeogenesis?

Answer 1

Answer:

The largest source of carbons for gluconeogenesis is pyruvate  ( synthesized from acetyl-CoA )

Explanation:

As the process of gluconeogenesis is the reverse of glycolysis , it begins with pyruvate ( being the source of carbons for gluconeogenesis ) .

The lactate is oxidized to pyruvate by lactate dehydrogenase.

The amino acid alanine is converted to pyruvate by alanine aminotransferase.

Glycerol 3 phosphate is oxidized to dihydroxyacetone phosphate by glycerol 3 phosphate dehydrogenase.

As the pyruvate is formed , it is acted upon by pyruvate carboxylase enzyme and converted into OAA thus acting as the source of carbons.

The detail of the gluconeogenesis is given in the attached picture.