Pyruvate
Pyruvate (
CH3COCOO−) is an important
chemical compound in
biochemistry. It is the output of the breakdown of
glucose known as
glycolysis, and (in aerobic organisms) the main input for the
citric acid cycle. In anerobic cells or organisms, pyruvate from glycolysis can be converted to
lactate using the
enzyme lactate dehydrogenase (in lactate
fermentation), or to
acetaldehyde and then to
ethanol (in alcoholic fermentation).
