Connections of Carbohydrate, Protein, and Lipid Metabolic Pathways

Connections of Other Sugars to Glucose Metabolism

Glycogen, a polymer of glucose, is an energy storage molecule in animals. When there is adequate ATP present, excess glucose is stored as glycogen in both liver and muscle cells. The glycogen will be hydrolyzed into glucose 1-phosphate monomers (G-1-P) if blood sugar levels drop. The presence of glycogen as a source of glucose allows ATP to be produced for a longer period of time during exercise. Glycogen is broken down into glucose-1-phosphate (G-1-P) and converted into glucose-6-phosphate (G-6-P) in both muscle and liver cells, and this product enters the glycolytic pathway.

Sucrose is a disaccharide with a molecule of glucose and a molecule of fructose bonded together with a glycosidic linkage. Fructose is one of the three “dietary” monosaccharides, along with glucose and galactose (part of the milk sugar dissacharide lactose), which are absorbed directly into the bloodstream during digestion. The catabolism of both fructose and galactose produces the same number of ATP molecules as glucose.