What is the ultimate end product of glucose breakdown in glycolysis?

The ultimate end product of glucose breakdown in glycolysis is pyruvic acid. Glycolysis is a series of enzymatic reactions that occur in the cytoplasm of cells, where one molecule of glucose, which is a six-carbon sugar, is broken down into two molecules of pyruvate (or pyruvic acid), each of which has three carbons. This process occurs through a series of steps that involve both energy investment and energy payoff phases.

During glycolysis, energy stored in glucose is converted into ATP (adenosine triphosphate), which is usable energy for the cell. In the final steps of glycolysis, each molecule of glucose is transformed into two molecules of pyruvate, making pyruvic acid the key end product of this pathway.

While acetyl-CoA is a crucial molecule in cellular respiration that is formed from pyruvate before entering the Krebs cycle, it is not a direct outcome of glycolysis itself. Lactic acid can be produced under anaerobic conditions from pyruvate but is not the primary product of glycolysis. Fructose is a different sugar that can enter glycolysis at a later stage but does not come from the breakdown of glucose. Thus, pyruvic acid is the