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Question 28.1: Ketone bodies are a source of energy, especially during diet...

Ketone bodies are a source of energy, especially during dieting and starvation. If acetoacetate is metabolized through β-oxidation and the common pathway, how many ATP molecules would be produced?

Strategy
First determine from Section 28.7 that two acetyl CoA molecules are produced. Then consult Table 28.2, the final step.

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Solution
In Step ①, activation of acetoacetate to acetoacetyl-CoA requires 2 ATPs. Step ⑤ yields two acetyl CoA molecules, which enter the common catabolic pathway, yielding 12 ATPs for each acetyl CoA, for a total of 24 ATPs. The net yield, therefore, is 22 ATP molecules.