Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index In biochemistry, a metabolic pathway is a series of chemical reactions within a biological cell, catalyzed by enzymes, which either results in the removal of a molecule from the environment to be used/stored by the cell (metabolic sink), or the initiation of another metabolic pathway (also called flux generating step). Most metabolic pathways have common properties : They are irreversible, usually because the first step is a committed step that only runs in one direction. The pathways are regulated, usually by feedback inhibition. Anabolic and catabolic pathways in eukaryotes are separated by either compartmentation or by the use of different enzymes and cofactors. Major Metabolic Pathways Krebs cycle (tricarboxylic acid cycle) Pentose phosphate pathway (hexose monophosphate shunt) Glycolysis Gluconeogenesis Urea cycle Fatty acid oxidation (beta oxidation) See also : catabolism External links : Google directory This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.