Types of Ketone Bodies
The three ketone bodies are:
- Acetoacetate, which, if not oxidized to form usable energy, is the source of the two other ketone bodies below
- Acetone, which like free fatty acids, can not be used by the brain for energy. Acetone is generated through the decarboxylation of acetoacetate which may occur spontaneously or through the enzyme acetoacetate decarboxylase. We release acetone by breathing it off.
- β-hydroxybutyrate, which is not, in the technical sense, a ketone according to IUPAC nomenclature. It is generated through the action of the enzyme D-β-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase on acetoacetate.
Each of these compounds is synthesized from acetyl-CoA molecules.
Read more about this topic: Ketogenesis
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