Glucose is the most abundant monosaccharide. Glucose is also the most widely used aldohexose in most living organisms. One possible explanation for this is that glucose has a lower tendency than other aldohexoses to react nonspecifically with the
amine groups of
proteins. This reaction—
glycation—impairs or destroys the function of many proteins, Another hypothesis is that glucose, being the only -aldohexose that has all five hydroxy substituents in the
equatorial position in the form of β--glucose, is more readily accessible to chemical reactions, for example, for
esterification or
acetal formation. For this reason, -glucose is also a highly preferred building block in natural polysaccharides (glycans). Polysaccharides that are composed solely of glucose are termed
glucans. Glucose is produced by plants through photosynthesis using sunlight, In adult humans, there is about of glucose, of which about is present in the blood. Approximately of glucose is produced in the liver of an adult in 24 hours. In contrast,
enzyme-regulated addition of sugars to protein is called
glycosylation and is essential for the function of many proteins.
Uptake Ingested glucose initially binds to the receptor for sweet taste on the tongue in humans. This complex of the proteins
T1R2 and
T1R3 makes it possible to identify glucose-containing food sources. but it is also synthesized from other metabolites in the body's cells. In humans, the breakdown of glucose-containing polysaccharides happens in part already during
chewing by means of
amylase, which is contained in
saliva, as well as by
maltase,
lactase, and
sucrase on the
brush border of the
small intestine. Glucose is a building block of many carbohydrates and can be split off from them using certain enzymes.
Glucosidases, a subgroup of the glycosidases, first catalyze the hydrolysis of long-chain glucose-containing polysaccharides, removing terminal glucose. In turn, disaccharides are mostly degraded by specific glycosidases to glucose. The names of the degrading enzymes are often derived from the particular poly- and disaccharide; inter alia, for the degradation of polysaccharide chains there are amylases (named after amylose, a component of starch), cellulases (named after cellulose), chitinases (named after chitin), and more. Furthermore, for the cleavage of disaccharides, there are maltase, lactase, sucrase,
trehalase, and others. In humans, about 70 genes are known that code for glycosidases. They have functions in the digestion and degradation of glycogen,
sphingolipids,
mucopolysaccharides, and poly(
ADP-ribose). Humans do not produce cellulases, chitinases, or trehalases, but the bacteria in the
gut microbiota do. In order to get into or out of cell membranes of cells and membranes of cell compartments, glucose requires special transport proteins from the
major facilitator superfamily. In the small intestine (more precisely, in the
jejunum), glucose is taken up into the intestinal
epithelium with the help of
glucose transporters via a
secondary active transport mechanism called sodium ion-glucose
symport via
sodium/glucose cotransporter 1 (SGLT1). Glucose enters the liver via the
portal vein and is stored there as a cellular glycogen. and
heart muscle) and
fat cells.
GLUT14 is expressed exclusively in
testicles. Excess glucose is broken down and converted into fatty acids, which are stored as
triglycerides. In the
kidneys, glucose in the urine is absorbed via SGLT1 and
SGLT2 in the apical cell membranes and transmitted via GLUT2 in the basolateral cell membranes. About 90% of kidney glucose reabsorption is via SGLT2 and about 3% via SGLT1.
Biosynthesis In plants and some
prokaryotes, glucose is a product of
photosynthesis. Glucose is also formed by the breakdown of polymeric forms of glucose like
glycogen (in animals and
mushrooms) or starch (in plants). The cleavage of glycogen is termed glycogenolysis, the cleavage of starch is called starch degradation. The metabolic pathway that begins with molecules containing two to four carbon atoms (C) and ends in the glucose molecule containing six carbon atoms is called gluconeogenesis and occurs in all living organisms. The smaller starting materials are the result of other metabolic pathways. Ultimately almost all
biomolecules come from the assimilation of carbon dioxide in plants and microbes during photosynthesis. but also in other cell types. In the liver about of glycogen are stored, in skeletal muscle about . However, the glucose released in muscle cells upon cleavage of the glycogen can not be delivered to the circulation because glucose is phosphorylated by the hexokinase, and a glucose-6-phosphatase is not expressed to remove the phosphate group. Unlike for glucose, there is no transport protein for
glucose-6-phosphate. Gluconeogenesis allows the organism to build up glucose from other metabolites, including
lactate or certain
amino acids, while consuming energy. The renal
tubular cells can also produce glucose. Glucose also can be found outside of living organisms in the ambient environment. Glucose concentrations in the atmosphere are detected via collection of samples by aircraft and are known to vary from location to location. For example, glucose concentrations in atmospheric air from inland China range from 0.8 to 20.1 pg/L, whereas east coastal China glucose concentrations range from 10.3 to 142 pg/L.
Glucose degradation ic forms are digested and taken up by the body in the intestines, including
starch,
glycogen,
disaccharides, and
monosaccharides.Glucose is stored in mainly the liver and muscles as glycogen. It is distributed and used in tissues as free glucose. In humans, glucose is metabolized by glycolysis and the pentose phosphate pathway. Glycolysis is used by all living organisms, with small variations, and all organisms generate energy from the breakdown of monosaccharides. Glucose is also used to replenish the body's glycogen stores, which are mainly found in liver and skeletal muscle. These processes are
hormonally regulated. In other living organisms, other forms of fermentation can occur. The bacterium
Escherichia coli can grow on nutrient media containing glucose as the sole carbon source. With glucose, a mechanism for
gene regulation was discovered in
E. coli, the
catabolite repression (formerly known as
glucose effect). Use of glucose as an energy source in cells is by either aerobic respiration, anaerobic respiration, or fermentation. Furthermore, addition of the high-energy phosphate group
activates glucose for subsequent breakdown in later steps of glycolysis. In anaerobic respiration, one glucose molecule produces a net gain of two ATP molecules (four ATP molecules are produced during glycolysis through substrate-level phosphorylation, but two are required by enzymes used during the process). In aerobic respiration, a molecule of glucose is much more profitable in that a maximum net production of 30 or 32 ATP molecules (depending on the organism) is generated.
Tumor cells often grow comparatively quickly and consume an above-average amount of glucose by glycolysis, which leads to the formation of lactate, the end product of fermentation in mammals, even in the presence of oxygen. This is called the
Warburg effect. For the increased uptake of glucose in tumors various SGLT and GLUT are overly produced. In
yeast, ethanol is fermented at high glucose concentrations, even in the presence of oxygen (which normally leads to respiration rather than fermentation). This is called the
Crabtree effect. Glucose can also degrade to form carbon dioxide through abiotic means. This has been demonstrated to occur experimentally via oxidation and hydrolysis at 22 °C and a pH of 2.5.
Energy source Glucose is a ubiquitous fuel in
biology. It is used as an energy source in organisms, from bacteria to humans, through either
aerobic respiration,
anaerobic respiration (in bacteria), or
fermentation. Glucose is the human body's key source of energy, through aerobic respiration, providing about 3.75
kilocalories (16
kilojoules) of
food energy per gram. Breakdown of carbohydrates (e.g., starch) yields mono- and
disaccharides, most of which is glucose. Through
glycolysis and later in the reactions of the
citric acid cycle and
oxidative phosphorylation, glucose is
oxidized to eventually form
carbon dioxide and water, yielding energy mostly in the form of
adenosine triphosphate (ATP). The insulin reaction, and other mechanisms, regulate the concentration of glucose in the blood. The physiological caloric value of glucose, depending on the source, is 16.2 kilojoules per gram or 15.7 kJ/g (3.74 kcal/g). The high availability of carbohydrates from plant biomass has led to a variety of methods during evolution, especially in microorganisms, to utilize glucose for energy and carbon storage. Differences exist in which end product can no longer be used for energy production. The presence of individual genes, and their gene products, the enzymes, determine which reactions are possible. The metabolic pathway of glycolysis is used by almost all living beings. An essential difference in the use of glycolysis is the recovery of
NADPH as a reductant for
anabolism that would otherwise have to be generated indirectly. Glucose and oxygen supply almost all the energy for the
brain, so its availability influences
psychological processes. When
glucose is low, psychological processes requiring mental effort (e.g.,
self-control, effortful decision-making) are impaired. In the brain, which is dependent on glucose and oxygen as the major source of energy, the glucose concentration is usually 4 to 6 mM (5 mM equals 90 mg/dL), In addition, glucose in the brain binds to glucose receptors of the
reward system in the
nucleus accumbens.
Artificial sweeteners do not lower blood sugar levels. Insulin lowers the glucose level, glucagon increases it. After food intake the blood sugar concentration increases. Values over 180 mg/dL in venous whole blood are pathological and are termed
hyperglycemia, values below 40 mg/dL are termed
hypoglycaemia. When needed, glucose is released into the bloodstream by glucose-6-phosphatase from glucose-6-phosphate originating from liver and kidney glycogen, thereby regulating the
homeostasis of blood glucose concentration. Some glucose is converted to
lactic acid by
astrocytes, which is then utilized as an energy source by
brain cells; some glucose is used by intestinal cells and
red blood cells, while the rest reaches the
liver,
adipose tissue, and
muscle cells, where it is absorbed and stored as glycogen (under the influence of
insulin). Liver cell glycogen can be converted to glucose and returned to the blood when insulin is low or absent; muscle cell glycogen is not returned to the blood because of a lack of enzymes. In
fat cells, glucose is used to power reactions that synthesize some
fat types and have other purposes. Glycogen is the body's "glucose energy storage" mechanism, because it is much more "space efficient" and less reactive than glucose itself. As a result of its importance in human health, glucose is an analyte in
glucose tests that are common medical
blood tests. Eating or fasting prior to taking a blood sample has an effect on analyses for glucose in the blood; a high fasting glucose blood sugar level may be a sign of
prediabetes or
diabetes mellitus. The
glycemic index is an indicator of the speed of resorption and conversion to blood glucose levels from ingested carbohydrates, measured as the
area under the curve of blood glucose levels after consumption in comparison to glucose (glucose is defined as 100). The clinical importance of the glycemic index is controversial, as foods with high fat contents slow the resorption of carbohydrates and lower the glycemic index, e.g. ice cream. measured as the impact of carbohydrate consumption on the blood insulin levels. The
glycemic load is an indicator for the amount of glucose added to blood glucose levels after consumption, based on the glycemic index and the amount of consumed food.
Precursor Organisms use glucose as a precursor for the synthesis of several important substances. Starch,
cellulose, and glycogen ("animal starch") are common glucose
polymers (polysaccharides). Some of these polymers (starch or glycogen) serve as energy stores, while others (cellulose and
chitin, which is made from a derivative of glucose) have structural roles. Oligosaccharides of glucose combined with other sugars serve as important energy stores. These include lactose, the predominant sugar in milk, which is a glucose-galactose disaccharide, and sucrose, another disaccharide, which is composed of glucose and fructose. Glucose is also added onto certain proteins and
lipids in a process called
glycosylation. This is often critical for their functioning. The enzymes that join glucose to other molecules usually use
phosphorylated glucose to power the formation of the new bond by coupling it with the breaking of the glucose-phosphate bond. Other than its direct use as a monomer, glucose can be broken down to synthesize a wide variety of other biomolecules. This is important, as glucose serves both as a primary store of energy and as a source of organic carbon. Glucose can be broken down and converted into lipids. It is also a precursor for the synthesis of other important molecules such as
vitamin C (ascorbic acid). In living organisms, glucose is converted to several other chemical compounds that are the starting material for various
metabolic pathways. Among them, all other monosaccharides, such as fructose (via the
polyol pathway), mannose (the epimer of glucose at position 2), galactose (the epimer at position 4), fucose, various
uronic acids, and the
amino sugars are produced from glucose. In addition to the phosphorylation to glucose-6-phosphate, which is part of the glycolysis, glucose can be oxidized during its degradation to
glucono-1,5-lactone. Glucose is used in some bacteria as a building block in the
trehalose or the
dextran biosynthesis and in animals as a building block of glycogen. Glucose can also be converted from bacterial
xylose isomerase to fructose. In addition, glucose
metabolites produce all nonessential amino acids,
sugar alcohols such as
mannitol and
sorbitol,
fatty acids,
cholesterol, and
nucleic acids. A 2025 study by Stanford Medicine uncovered that glucose, in its intact (non-metabolized) form, can bind to various regulatory proteins involved in gene expression. One such protein is IRF6, which alters its conformation upon glucose binding, thereby influencing the expression of genes associated with stem cell differentiation. This regulatory role is independent of glucose's catabolic function and has been observed across multiple tissue types, including skin, bone, fat, and white blood cells. The research demonstrated that even glucose analogs incapable of metabolism could promote differentiation, suggesting a signaling function for glucose. These findings have potential implications in understanding and treating diseases characterized by impaired differentiation, such as diabetes and certain cancers. ==Pathology==