Pyruvate

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Pyruvate or pyruvic acid is a three carbon organic acid which is the end product of glycolysis. Pyruvate has three carbons and the middle carbon has a double bonded oxygen. The third carbon on the right is involved in a carboxyl group. Note that glycolysis produces two pyruvate molecules for each glucose molecule entering glycolysis and that these molecules still have most of the energy that was in the original glucose molecule. Thus, in our cells, the process of aerobic cellular respiration will be involved with extracting the balance of the energy...or at least as much as possible.

Black= carbon, Red = hydrogen, Blue = oxygen

pgd revised 02/20/00