5.1 - Metabolism

Types of Metabolism in a Cell

Metabolism refers to all the essential chemical reactions in a living organism. The two main categories of metabolism are anabolism and catabolism.

• Anabolism is the synthesis of more complex molecules from simpler substances.
• Catabolism refers to the breaking down of larger molecules into smaller molecules.

Figure 1 - In previous chapter, we have learnt about how a protein is being synthesized. Many amino acids join together to form a polypeptide. This is an example of an anabolism process. Now, if you reverse the process, the polypeptide is broken down via hydrolysis, you will get amino acids as your products. This is an example of a catabolism process. Anabolism requires energy while catabolism produces energy.