Krebs cycle

noun

Biochemistry.

1. a cycle of enzyme-catalyzed reactions in living cells that is the final series of reactions of aerobic metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins, and fatty acids, and by which carbon dioxide is produced, oxygen is reduced, and ATP is formed.

Krebs cycle

noun

1. Also called: citric acid cycle.  tricarboxylic acid cycle. a stage of tissue respiration: a series of biochemical reactions occurring in mitochondria in the presence of oxygen by which acetate, derived from the breakdown of foodstuffs, is converted to carbon dioxide and water, with the release of energy

Krebs cycle

1. A series of chemical reactions that occur in most aerobic organisms and are part of the process of aerobic cell metabolism, by which glucose and other molecules are broken down in the presence of oxygen into carbon dioxide and water to release chemical energy in the form of ATP. The Krebs cycle is the intermediate stage, occurring between glycolysis and phosphorylation, and results in the enzymatic breaking down, rearranging, and recombination of byproducts of glycolysis. The combination of glycolysis and the Krebs cycle ultimately allows 36 ATP molecules to be produced from the energy contained in one molecule of glucose and six molecules of oxygen.

2. Also called citric acid cycle

3. See more at cellular respiration

Word History and Origins

Origin of Krebs cycle¹

First recorded in 1940–45; after H.A. Krebs

Word History and Origins

Origin of Krebs cycle¹

C20: named after Hans Adolf Krebs (1900–81), German-born British biochemist