Ketone bodies are three water-soluble compounds that are produced as by-products when fatty acids are broken down for energy in the liver. Two of the three are used as a source of energy in the heart and brain while the third is a waste product excreted from the body. In the brain, they are a vital source of energy during fasting. Although termed "bodies", they are dissolved substances, not particles.
The three endogenous ketone bodies are acetone, acetoacetic acid, and beta-hydroxybutyric acid, although beta-hydroxybutyric acid is not technically a ketone but a carboxylic acid. Other ketone bodies such as beta-ketopentanoate and beta-hydroxypentanoate may be created as a result of the metabolism of synthetic triglycerides such as triheptanoin.
Read more about Ketone Bodies: Uses in The Heart and Brain, Production, Ketosis and Ketoacidosis, Impact Upon PH
Famous quotes containing the word bodies:
“Remember all those renowned generations,
They left their bodies to fatten the wolves,
They left their homesteads to fatten the foxes,
Fled to far countries, or sheltered themselves
In cavern, crevice or hole,
Defending Irelands soul.”
—William Butler Yeats (18651939)