citric acid cycle

Krebs cycle   (krěbz)    n.  A series of enzymatic reactions in aerobic organisms involving oxidative metabolism of acetyl units and producing high-energy phosphate compounds, which serve as the main source of cellular energy. Also called citric acid cycle, tricarboxylic acid cycle. [After Sir Hans Adolf Krebs.]

Main Entry: Krebs cycle
Pronunciation: 'krebz-
Function: noun
: a sequence of reactions in the living organism in which oxidation of acetic acid or acetylequivalent provides energy for storage in phosphate bonds (as in ATP) called also citric acid cycle, tricarboxylic acid cycle
Krebs, Sir Hans Adolf(1900–1981), German-British biochemist. Krebs made major contributions to the understanding of metabolic processes. In 1937 he discovered a series of intermediate reactions in theoxidation of foodstuffs: the citric acid cycle. Now known as the Krebs cycle, these reactions have proved to be of vital importance in our understanding of metabolic processes in the cell. In 1953 hewas awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for his researches in metabolic processes.

Krebs cycle (krěbz)
n.
A series of enzymatic reactions in aerobic organisms involving oxidative metabolism of acetyl units and producing high-energy phosphate compounds, which serve as the main source of cellular energy. Also called citric acid cycle, tricarboxylic acid cycle.

Krebs cycle   A series of chemical reactions that occur in most aerobic organisms and are part of the process of aerobic cell metabolism, by which glucose and other molecules are broken down in the presence of oxygen into carbon dioxide and water to release chemical energy in the form of ATP. The Krebs cycle is the intermediate stage, occurring between glycolysis and phosphorylation, and results in the enzymatic breaking down, rearranging, and recombination of byproducts of glycolysis. The combination of glycolysis and the Krebs cycle ultimately allows 36 ATP molecules to be produced from the energy contained in one molecule of glucose and six molecules of oxygen. Also called citric acid cycle. See more at cellular respiration.