chemistry of Sports (TC 201

Lecture 8
Exercise Metabolism,
Carbohydrate and Lipids
Bo Eng, Cheong

Guidelines for Lecture 8

Exercise Metabolism
Principles of Exercise Metabolism
Five Means of Metabolic Control in Exercise
Four Classes of Energy Sources in Exercise
Carbohydrates
Monosaccharides
Oligosaccharides
Polysaccharides
Lipids
Fatty Acids
Triacylglycerol
Phospholipids
Steroids
Cell Membranes

Exercise Metabolism

What is metabolism ?

What is catabolism ?

What is anabolism ?

 Metabolism
the sum of the chemical reactions occurring in a livi
ng organism. E.g. ?
Anabolism
the set of metabolic pathways that construct molec
ules from smaller units. These reactions require en
ergy. E.g. ?
Catabolism
the set of metabolic pathways that break down mol
ecules into smaller units and release energy. E.g. ?

Figure. Overview of
metabolism. Shown
here are the central
metabolomic path
ways and some key
intermediates. Cata
bolic pathways (red)
proceed downward
and anabolic pathw
ays (blue) proceed
upward.

Exercise Metabolism

hat is exercise metabolism ?

nt: definition of metabolism)

a student of Sport Science, why do

nk it is important to know about
ercise metabolism ?

inciples of Exercise Metabolis

1. Exercise metabolism obeys the need for increa
sed energy supply to the contracting muscles.
Anabolism or catabolism?
2. Most kinds of exercise cause increased break-d
own of carbohydrate and lipids.
3. Exercise changes metabolism not only in the ex
ercising muscles but also in other organs and ti
ssues (liver, adipose tissue).

inciples of Exercise Metabolis

4. Metabolism does not return to the resting sta
te immediately after the end of exercise. Man
y changes persist for hours or days, while oth
ers are manifest during recovery rather than e
xercise.
5. Training can change metabolism to an exte
nt great enough to make the metabolic profil
e of a trained individual different from an untr
ained individual.

Five Means of Metabolic Control in

Exercise
Mammals have developed a multitude of mechanisms to
modify their metabolism during exercise. The mechanism
s are:
1. Allosteric Regulation
.Metabolic reactions are catalyzed by enzymes. The binding of a c
ompound whose concentration increases with exercise to a site o
n an enzyme distinct from the active site may modify the enzyme
s activity.
.If the activity increases, the compound is called an activator. If de
creases, the compound is called an inhibitor (feedback inhibition
of a metabolic pathway).

Five Means of Metabolic Control in

Exercise

Five Means of Metabolic Control i

n Exercise
2. Covalent Modification
.The activity of certain enzymes is controlled by the rever
sible addition of chemical groups to their molecules. Thi
s covalent modification can take places within seconds.
.The addition and subsequent removal of chemical group
s are catalyzed by specific enzymes, which can be activa
ted or inhibited by biochemical factors affected by exerc
ise.
.E.g. the control of glycogen synthesis and breakdown by
phosphorylation of the responsible enzyme (coming soo
n).

Five Means of Metabolic Control i

n Exercise
3. Changing Substrate Concentration
.The increase or decrease in the concen
tration of a reactions substrate during e
xercise may cause a similar change in re
action rate.
.E.g. the increase in the amount of gluco
se entering the exercising muscles from
the blood speeds up its use for energy s
upply.

Five Means of Metabolic Control i

n Exercise
4. Changing Enzyme Concentration
.Different kinds of exercise create biochemical st
imuli that modify the concentrations of various e
nzymes.
.Cells often achieve this by altering the transcrip
tion rates of the genes encoding these enzymes.
.Changing enzyme concentration is the slowest
means of regulation requires hours.
.Covered in lecture 6? The effect of exercise on
gene expression.

Five Means of Metabolic Control i

n Exercise
5. Nervous and Hormonal Control
.Focus on hormone.
.Hormones are compounds that coordinate the func
tioning of different cells in multi-cellular organisms.
.They are synthesized in endocrine glands and secr
eted in the blood, which disseminates them to the r
est of the body.
.They alter specifically the function of tissues, organ
s, or cells called target tissues, target organs, or tar
get cells.

Four Classes of Energy Sources in

Exercise
The 1st principle of exercise metabolism
Exercise metabolism obeys the need for increased
energy supply to contracting muscles. Four classes
of biological substances serve this need:
1. Compounds of high phosphoryl transfer potential
2. Carbohydrates
3. Lipids
4. Proteins

Carbohydrate
The most important energy source!
Compounds of the molecular formula Cn
H2nOn or are derived from such compou
nds.
If one takes n as a common factor, the
formula becomes (CH2O)n, hence the na
me carbo-hydrate.

Carbohydrate
Serve a multitude of needs in living organi
sms:
Sources of energy
Offer cells external protection. Cellulose
is the support of the entire plant kingdo
m
Part of building block of nucleic acids (a
s ribose or deoxyribose)
Divided into monosaccharides, oligosac
charides, and polysaccharides

Monosaccharides
The simplest forms of carbohydrates.
Has 3 to 7 carbon atoms and is called specifically tri
ose (3C), tetrose (4C), pentose (5C), hexose (6C) or
heptose (7C).
For sugars with more than one chiral center, the D or
L designation refers to the asymmetric carbon farthe
st from the aldehyde or keto group.
Most naturally occurring sugars are D isomers.
D & L sugars are mirror images of one another. They
have the same name. For example, D-glucose and Lglucose.

Monosaccharides Triose (3C

The smallest monosaccharides, glyceral
dehyde and dihydroxyacetone.

onosaccharides Pentose (5
Ribose the component of ribonucleoti
des (DNA, RNA)
Can be either open chain or cyclic

onosaccharides Hexose (6
Glucose and fructose, which occur in fruit
s and account for their sweetness
Both have the molecular formula C 6H12O6
Appear in open-chain and cyclic form (pred
ominates in biological systems)
Cyclic glucose is called glucopyranose

Oligosaccharides
When 2 to 10 monosaccharides are link
ed covalently, oligosaccharides result.
The linkages between monosaccharide
units in an oligosaccharide are called gl
ycosidic linkage
Maltose and sucrose

Polysaccharides
Cellulose dietary fiber, main component
of your books, clothes, and cotton
Starch stored energy form in plants
Glycogen stored energy form in animals
Glycogen - one of our focuses in Lecture 9

Lipids
Lipids present a great variety of structur
es and functions.
Encompasses the main constituent of a l
arge tissue (adipose tissue), membrane
components, hormones, vitamins and et
c.
Low solubility in water.
Four categories: fatty acids, triacylglyc
erols, phospholipids, and steroids.

Fatty Aci
ds
Organic acids containing large numbers
of carbon atoms (usually 12-26)
Consist of a long carbon chain with hydr
ogens all around (aliphatic chain) and a
carboxyl group at one end

Fatty Acids
The carboxyl group (with negative charge) is hydrophilic,
whereas the aliphatic chain is hydrophobic, produce an a
mphipathic compound (poorly soluble in water).
Fatty acids are different in the number of double bonds. If
the carbons of a fatty acid are linked by single bonds onl
y, the fatty acid is called saturated because there is no ro
om to add anymore hydrogens.
Conversely, if there are double bonds between some of t
he carbons, the fatty acids is called unsaturated (could b
e cis- or trans- configuration).

Fatty Acids

Triacylglyce
rols
Triacylglycerols, or triglycerides, are th
e most abundant lipid category.
Serve mainly as energy depots.
Consist of a glycerol unit and three fat
ty acid units.

Triacylglycerols
Glycerol is a compound of three carbon
s and three hydroxyl groups. Each hydro
xyl group is linked to the carboxyl group
of a fatty acid through an ester linkage.

Phospholip
ids
Presenting a re
markable struc
tural variety.
A major compo
nent of all cell
membranes as
they can form li
pid bilayers.

Steroi
ds
Complex lipid category, encompassing h
ormones.
All are derivatives of cholesterol. E.g. te
stosterone, progesterone, estrogen and
etc.

The anabolic steroid

testosterone,
the
principal
male
sex
hormone.

Progesterone, a steroid
hormone involved in the
female
menstrual
cycle,
pregnancy
and

Thank You