[ash111sx]

Hi, I have an exercise about beta oxidation but I don't really know how to obtain the result(s). Can someone help me to understand it?


If CoASH has a molecular weight of 768, a complete beta oxidation of 8 mg of palmitoyl CoA produces about:
a- 7.95 10^-6 moles of FADH2
b- 7,95 10^-6 moles of NADH
c- 6,35 10^-5 moles of acetilCoA
d- 7.95 10^-6 moles of H2O
e- 52 mg of acetilCoA

[Babcock_Hall]

Start by writing the balanced oxidation for the complete β-oxidation of palmitoyl CoA to its products.  You can figure out what the products are based on the answers below, but you will still need the stoichiometric coefficients.  Unless I miscounted, there should be seven rounds of β-oxidation, and each round consists of four reactions.  There is no need to write out each step IMO.

[Babcock_Hall]

It is a Forum Rule (see red link) that you must show your attempt at solving a problem before we can help you.  I will give you a hint:  One can infer the unbalanced equation for β-oxidation from the answers a through e that you gave, although water is a reactant and protons are given off (see below).  There are many ways to balance it, the easiest being to look it up in a reputable source, such as a textbook.  One could also use the oxidation numbers of the carbon atoms, which might be a good exercise.

Palmitoyl CoA + NAD + FAD + CoA + H₂O Acetyl CoA + NADH + FADH₂ + H⁺