Metabolic intermediate
Metabolic intermediates are compounds produced during the conversion of substrates (starting molecules) into final products in biochemical reactions within cells.[1] Although these intermediates are of relatively minor direct importance to cellular function, they can play important roles in the allosteric regulation of enzymes, glycolysis, the citric acid cycle, and amino acid synthesis.Metabolic intermediates are compounds that form during these steps, and they are neither the starting substrate nor the final product of the pathway.[2] Metabolic intermediates can belong to different biochemical classes based on the type of pathway they are involved in.Because they can represent unnatural points of entry into natural metabolic pathways, some (such as AICA ribonucleotide) are of interest to researchers in developing new therapies.