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[Biochemistry](https://durgical.com/en/biochemistry/) · Molecule

# Pyruvate

Pyruvate is where glycolysis ends: with oxygen it enters the mitochondria and is burned; without oxygen it becomes lactate.

Updated 2026-10-31

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## Key facts

- A three-carbon α-keto acid; each glucose gives two.
- Four fates: acetyl-CoA (PDH, mitochondria), lactate (LDH), oxaloacetate (pyruvate carboxylase, with biotin) and alanine (ALT, with vitamin B6).
- The blood lactate/pyruvate ratio is about 10–20; it rises in respiratory-chain defects and stays normal in PDH deficiency.

**Also called**
Pyruvic acid

**Formula**
C₃H₄O₃

**PubChem**
[CID 1060](https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/1060)

## Structure

- It has a carboxyl group, a ketone at C2 and a methyl group; at cell pH it is the pyruvate anion.

## Clinical notes

- It enters the mitochondria through the mitochondrial pyruvate carrier (MPC).
- In thiamine (B1) deficiency PDH fails, pyruvate builds up and is diverted to lactate.

## Pathways

- [Glycolysis](https://durgical.com/en/biochemistry/pathways/glycolysis/)
- [Krebs cycle (citric acid cycle)](https://durgical.com/en/biochemistry/pathways/krebs-cycle/)
- [Gluconeogenesis](https://durgical.com/en/biochemistry/pathways/gluconeogenesis/)

## Related conditions

- [Lactic acidosis](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/lactic-acidosis/)

## Related

- [Pyruvate kinase](https://durgical.com/en/biochemistry/enzymes/pyruvate-kinase/)
- [Lactate](https://durgical.com/en/biochemistry/molecules/lactate/)
- [Pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDH)](https://durgical.com/en/biochemistry/enzymes/pyruvate-dehydrogenase-complex/)
- [Acetyl-CoA](https://durgical.com/en/biochemistry/molecules/acetyl-coa/)

## Test yourself

Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it.

## Which vitamin does pyruvate carboxylase need?

Biotin (B7): it turns pyruvate into oxaloacetate.

## What happens to pyruvate when oxygen is short?

LDH reduces it to lactate and regenerates NAD⁺.

## What does a normal lactate/pyruvate ratio with high lactate suggest?

A block at PDH (or pyruvate carboxylase) rather than in the respiratory chain.

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Molecules are shown in their neutral form, as the databases deposit them; in the cell the acids and phosphates are ionised.

Educational information, not medical advice. For any symptom, see a health professional.

Sources: [Pyruvic acid (CID 1060)](https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/1060) (PubChem, NCBI, 2026) · Public domain; [Pyruvate metabolism](https://reactome.org/PathwayBrowser/#/R-HSA-70268) (Reactome, 2026); Textbook of Biochemistry for Medical Students, 6th ed. (Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers (Vasudevan DM, Sreekumari S, Vaidyanathan K), 2011).

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Source: https://durgical.com/en/biochemistry/molecules/pyruvate/
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