| Abstract from DBPedia | In biochemistry, a metabolite is an intermediate or end product of metabolism.The term is usually used for small molecules. Metabolites have various functions, including fuel, structure, signaling, stimulatory and inhibitory effects on enzymes, catalytic activity of their own (usually as a cofactor to an enzyme), defense, and interactions with other organisms (e.g. pigments, odorants, and pheromones). A primary metabolite is directly involved in normal "growth", development, and reproduction. Ethylene exemplifies a primary metabolite produced large-scale by industrial microbiology. A secondary metabolite is not directly involved in those processes, but usually has an important ecological function. Examples include antibiotics and pigments such as resins and terpenes etc. Some antibiotics use primary metabolites as precursors, such as actinomycin, which is created from the primary metabolite tryptophan. Some sugars are metabolites, such as fructose or glucose, which are both present in the metabolic pathways. Examples of primary metabolites produced by industrial microbiology include: The metabolome forms a large network of metabolic reactions, where outputs from one enzymatic chemical reaction are inputs to other chemical reactions. Metabolites from chemical compounds, whether inherent or pharmaceutical, form as part of the natural biochemical process of degrading and eliminating the compounds.The rate of degradation of a compound is an important determinant of the duration and intensity of its action. Understanding how pharmaceutical compounds are metabolized and the potential side effects of their metabolites is an important part of drug discovery.代謝物質(Metabolite)は、代謝の過程の中間生産物及び最終生成物である。代謝物、代謝産物、代謝生成物ともいうが、代謝物質というと代謝をうける前の物質もいうことがある。通常は小分子に限られる。一次代謝物質は、生物の成長、進化、生殖に直接関わるものである。例えばアルコールは、工業微生物的に大量生産される一次代謝物質である。二次代謝物質は、上記の過程には直接関わらないが、例えば抗生物質や色素等、重要な生態学的機能を持つ物質である。抗生物質の中には、一次代謝物質を前駆物質として用いるものもある。例えば、アクチノマイシンは一次代謝物質のトリプトファンから作られる。 工業微生物学で生産される一次代謝物質の例には、次のようなものがある。 メタボロームは、代謝反応の大きなネットワークを形成し、ある酵素化学反応からの出力が他の化学反応への入力になります。 (Source: http://dbpedia.org/resource/Metabolite) |
