metabolite
Americannoun
noun
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A substance produced by metabolism.
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A substance necessary for or taking part in a particular metabolic process. Examples of metabolites are glucose in the metabolism of sugars and starches, amino acids in the biosynthesis of proteins, and squalene in the biosynthesis of cholesterol.
Etymology
Origin of metabolite
First recorded in 1880–85; metabol(ism) + -ite 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
When coffee drinkers stopped drinking coffee, researchers observed substantial shifts in their gut metabolite profiles compared with people who did not normally consume coffee.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 28, 2026
They compared metabolite levels among centenarians, offspring, and controls, while also identifying molecules that changed with chronological age.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 5, 2026
Some metabolite changes appeared after consumption of both the tomato-soy juice and the control tomato juice, indicating that tomatoes may produce biological effects even without high levels of lycopene.
From Science Daily ● May 30, 2026
Further analysis revealed that mice with the mutation produced increased levels of ATDR, a metabolite derived from vitamin A, in their brains.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 15, 2026
Although plant metabolite databases are far less complete than those for animals, the researchers identified compounds linked to regional plants such as aloe and asparagus.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 3, 2026
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