Question

Does betta oxidation of fatty acids occur in every cell of the body? More specifically is it confined to the liver (as does fatty acid synthesis), or occurs in other tissues too?

Answer 1

In biochemistry and metabolism, beta-oxidation is the catabolic process by which fatty acid molecules are broken down^[1] in the cytosol in prokaryotes and in the mitochondria in eukaryotes 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. Beta-oxidation is primarily facilitated by the mitochondrial trifunctional protein, an enzyme complex associated with the inner mitochondrial membrane, although some fatty acids are oxidized in peroxisomes.

The overall reaction for one cycle of beta oxidation is:

• C_n-acyl CoA + FAD + NAD+
  + H
  2O + CoA ?
• C_n-2-acyl CoA + FADH
  2 + NADH + H+
  + acetyl CoA