Pentose phosphate pathway
[1] It generates NADPH and pentoses (five-carbon sugars) as well as ribose 5-phosphate, a precursor for the synthesis of nucleotides.
[1] While the pentose phosphate pathway does involve oxidation of glucose, its primary role is anabolic rather than catabolic.
[citation needed] The PPP is one of the three main ways the body creates molecules with reducing power, accounting for approximately 60% of NADPH production in humans.
Erythrocytes, for example, generate a large amount of NADPH through the pentose phosphate pathway to use in the reduction of glutathione.
[7] The ratio of NADPH:NADP+ is the primary mode of regulation for the enzyme and is normally about 100:1 in liver cytosol[citation needed].
[8][9] Several deficiencies in the level of activity (not function) of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase have been observed to be associated with resistance to the malarial parasite Plasmodium falciparum among individuals of Mediterranean and African descent.
Glucose-6-phosphate ( 1 ), 6-phosphoglucono-δ-lactone ( 2 ), 6-phosphogluconate ( 3 ), ribulose 5-phosphate ( 4 )
