Carbohydrate metabolism starts with the ingestion of food, breakdown
(digestion), and absorption of monosaccharides by the intestinal enterocytes. The
absorbed monosaccharides are involved in many cellular processes. They are
transferred to cells for aerobic and anaerobic respiration via glycolysis, citric acid cycle
and pentose phosphate pathway to be used in the starvation state. In the normal state,
the skeletal muscle and liver cells store monosaccharides in the form of glycogen. The
extra glucose is converted to triglycerides via lipogenesis and is stored in the lipid
droplets of adipocytes. The present chapter describes in details carbohydrate
metabolism and its cellular processes.
Keywords: Absorption, Carbohydrates, Digestion, Cellular respiration, Gluconeogenesis, Glycogenolysis, Glycogenesis, Glycolysis, Transport.
