metabol

Metabol is not a standard term in modern biochemistry and is more commonly encountered as a historical or shorthand form for metabolite. In contemporary usage, a metabolite is a chemical species produced or consumed during metabolism. Metabolites can exist as intermediates within a pathway, end products of catabolic processes, or secondary products with ecological or physiological roles.

Metabolites are typically categorized as primary or secondary. Primary metabolites are essential for basic cellular functions and growth, such as amino acids, nucleotides, and central carbon intermediates. Secondary metabolites are not strictly required for survival but play important roles in interactions with the environment, including antibiotics, alkaloids, pigments, and signaling molecules. The distinction is especially prominent in microorganisms and plants, where secondary metabolites often have pharmaceutical or ecological significance.

In pharmacology and toxicology, metabolism transforms foreign compounds (xenobiotics) into metabolites through enzymatic reactions, commonly classified as phase I and phase II processes. Phase I introduces or unmasks functional groups, while phase II conjugates the compound to increase solubility for excretion. Metabolites may be pharmacologically active or inactive, and some can be toxic, such as NAPQI, a reactive metabolite of acetaminophen that can cause liver injury if detoxification capacity is overwhelmed.

Metabolomics is a related field focused on profiling and quantifying the complete set of metabolites in a biological sample to study physiology, disease, and treatment responses. The term metabolite derives from Greek roots meaning change, reflecting its role in metabolic transformations.