Metabolism is the collection of biochemical reactions that occur within a cell,

which includes a tremendous diversity of molecular conversions. Most of these

reactions can be grouped into metabolic pathways containing a sequence of
chemical reactions in which each reaction is catalyzed by a specific enzyme, and
the product of one reaction is the substrate for the next.
Metabolic pathways can be divided into two broad types. Catabolic pathways lead
to the disassembly of complex molecules to form simpler products. Catabolic
pathways serve two functions: they make available the raw materials from which
other molecules can be synthesized, and they provide chemical energy required for
the many activities of a cell.
Energy released by catabolic pathways is stored temporarily in two forms: as high-
energy phosphates (primarily ATP) and as high-energy electrons (primarily in
NADPH).
Anabolic pathways lead to the synthesis of more complex compounds from
simpler starting materials. Anabolic pathways are energy-requiring and utilize
chemical energy released by the exergonic catabolic pathways.
Figure shows a greatly simplified profile of the ways in which the major anabolic and
catabolic pathways are interconnected.
Macromolecules are first disassembled (hydrolyzed) into the building blocks of
which they are made (stage I). Once macromolecules have been hydrolyzed into their
components—amino acids, sugars, and fatty acids—the cell can reutilize the building
blocks directly to (1) form other macromolecules of the same class (stage I), (2)
convert them into different compounds to make other products, or (3) degrade them
further (stages II and III) and extract a measure of their free-energy content.
The pathways for degradation of the diverse building blocks of macromolecules vary
according to the particular compound being catabolized.
Ultimately, however, all of these molecules are converted into a small variety of
compounds that can be metabolized similarly. Thus, even though substances begin as
macromolecules having a very different structure, they are converted by catabolic
pathways to the same low-molecular-weight metabolites. For this reason, catabolic
pathways are said to be convergent.
Anabolism:
For the synthesis of a large variety of complex molecules, the starting materials are
relatively few. These include pyruvate, acetyl CoA and the intermediates of citric
acid cycle. Besides the availability of precursors, the anabolic reactions are
dependent on the supply of energy (as ATP or GTP) and reducing equivalents (as
NADPH + H+).
The anabolic and catabolic pathways are not reversible and operate independently.
As such, the metabolic pathways occur in specific cellular locations (mitochondria,
microsomes etc.) and are controlled by different regulatory signals.
The terms—intermediary metabolism and energy metabolism—are also in use.
Intermediary metabolism refers to the entire range of catabolic and anabolic
reactions, not involving nucleic acids. Energy metabolism deals with the metabolic
pathways concerned with the storage and liberation of energy.