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The accumulation of acetyl-CoA in turn produces excess ketone bodies through ketogenesis. [11] The result is a rate of ketone production higher than the rate of ketone disposal, and a decrease in blood pH. [12] In extreme cases the resulting acetone can be detected in the patient's breath as a faint, sweet odor.
Ketone bodies are water-soluble molecules or compounds that contain the ketone groups produced from fatty acids by the liver (ketogenesis). [1] [2] Ketone bodies are readily transported into tissues outside the liver, where they are converted into acetyl-CoA (acetyl-Coenzyme A) – which then enters the citric acid cycle (Krebs cycle) and is oxidized for energy.
In physiological ketosis, ketones in the blood are elevated above baseline levels, but the body's acid–base homeostasis is maintained. This contrasts with ketoacidosis, an uncontrolled production of ketones that occurs in pathologic states and causes a metabolic acidosis, which is a medical emergency.
The ketones are released by the liver into the blood. All cells with mitochondria can take up ketones from the blood and reconvert them into acetyl-CoA, which can then be used as fuel in their citric acid cycles, as no other tissue can divert its oxaloacetate into the gluconeogenic pathway in the way that this can occur in the liver.
However, drinking exogenous ketones will not trigger fat burning like a ketogenic diet. Most supplements rely on β-hydroxybutyrate as the source of exogenous ketone bodies. It is the most common exogenous ketone body because of its efficient energy conversion and ease of synthesis. [1] In the body, β-HB can be converted to acetoacetic acid.
In organic chemistry, a ketone / ˈ k iː t oʊ n / is an organic compound with the structure R−C(=O)−R', where R and R' can be a variety of carbon-containing substituents. Ketones contain a carbonyl group −C(=O)− (a carbon-oxygen double bond C=O). The simplest ketone is acetone (where R and R' is methyl), with the formula (CH 3) 2 CO ...
Ketoacidosis is caused by the uncontrolled production of ketone bodies. Usually the production of ketones is carefully controlled by several hormones, most importantly insulin. If the mechanisms that control ketone production fail, ketone levels may become dramatically elevated and cause dangerous changes in physiology such as a metabolic acidosis.
Testing for ketone bodies in urine. The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, adequate-protein, low-carbohydrate dietary therapy that in conventional medicine is used mainly to treat hard-to-control (refractory) epilepsy in children. The diet forces the body to burn fats rather than carbohydrates.