An alternative pathway of glucose oxidation: the pentose phosphate pathway

This chapter examines the pentose phosphate pathway, which is a pathway of glucose oxidation which does not generate adenosine triphosphate (ATP) nor oxidize a molecule of glucose completely. The chapter considers the pentose phosphate pathway as a versatile pathway that produces ribose-5-phosphate for nucleotide synthesis, supplies nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate hydrogen (NADPH) for fat synthesis and other reductive systems, and provides a route for the metabolism of surplus pentose sugars coming from the diet. The pathway has an oxidative section converting glucose-6-phosphate into ribose-5-phosphate and it produces NADPH. The chapter explores how the nonoxidative section manipulates ribose-5-phosphate according to the needs of the cell. If a cell requires equal amounts of ribose-5-phosphate and NADPH, only the oxidative section is required.