Beta oxidation

In biochemistry and metabolism, beta-oxidation is the catabolic process by which fatty acid molecules are broken down in the mitochondria to generate acetyl-CoA, which enters the citric acid cycle, and NADH and FADH2, which are co-enzymes used in the electron transport chain. It is named as such because the beta carbon of the fatty acid undergoes oxidation to a carbonyl group. Various mechanisms have evolved to handle the large variety of fatty acids.

Overview

Fatty acid catabolism consists of:

Activation and membrane transport

Free fatty acids cannot penetrate any biological membrane due to their negative charge. Free fatty acids must cross the cell membrane through specific transport proteins, such as the SLC27 family fatty acid transport protein. Once in the cytosol, the following processes bring fatty acids into the mitochondrial matrix so that beta-oxidation can take place.