Conversion of glucose of lactate by intraerythrocytic Plasmodium berghei

Overview
Cells make energy by breaking down macromolecules. Cellular respiration is the biochemical process that converts "food energy" (from the chemical bonds of macromolecules) into chemical energy in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). The first step of this tightly regulated and intricate process is glycolysis. The word glycolysis originates from the Latin glyco (sugar) and lysis (breakdown). Glycolysis serves two main intracellular functions: generating ATP and generating...

Pyruvate is the end product of glycolysis, where glucose is oxidized to pyruvate, simultaneously reducing NAD+ to NADH. Two molecules of ATP are also produced by substrate-level phosphorylation.
In aerobic organisms, pyruvate is metabolized via the citric acid cycle to produce reduced coenzymes NADH and FADH2. These coenzymes are then oxidized in the electron transport chain to produce ATP and, in the process, regenerate the NAD+ and FAD. As seen in some cell types and organisms, fermentation...