what are metabolites?

Answer 1

Constructive ( Anabolic ) and destructive ( Catabolic) activities are continuously in operation in any living cell or organism till the death.

These two are collectively called Metabolism or metabolic activities in Physiology.

For example 1) Photosynthesis is an Anabolic activity in which smaller molecules,like CO2 and H2O are combined or are united together to construct a larger molecule like glucose C6 H12 O6 .

2) Respiration is a Catabolic activity in which a larger molecule like glucose is broken down in to smaller molecules likeCO2 and H2O with the help of O2 and energy is released.

In both the reactions some reactants are required .

They are O2 , CO2 , H2O, C6 H12 O6 etc.

These are called METABOLITES.

In short ANY chemical reactant which is required for; and directly participates in the chemical reaction of Metabolism ( Either Anabolism or Catabolism ) Is a Metabolite.

All the chemicals and gases and water that the bodies of living organisms require for their wellbeing are are Metabolites.

But But , Temparature , light are NOT Metabolites as they are not chemicals and do not enter the reactions directly.
They may help it

They are not on either side of the chemical equation.

Please remember it . So also chloroplast and chlorophyll.

Now let us see the list of metabolites for living organisms.

Primary minerals:

Chromium (Cr) Bromine (Br) Cobalt (Co) Copper (Cu) Germanium (Ge) Iodine (I) Iron (Fe) Magnesium (Mg) Manganese (Mn) Molybdenum (Mo) Potassium (K)
Selenium (Se) Zinc (Zn) Calcium (Ca) Phosphorus (P)
Sodium (Na) Sulfur (S) Vanadium (V)

Secondary minerals:

Bismuth (Bi) (suspect) Boron (B) Fluorine (F) (necessity unknown in humans)

Nickel (Ni)Rubidium (Rb) (suspect) Silicon (Si) [10]

Strontium (Sr) (suspect) Tellurium (Te) (suspect)
Tin (Sn)[11] Tungsten (W) (some organisms use tungsten rather than molybdenum) .

Vitamins:

Biotin,Choline ,Folate ,Niacin ,Pantothenic acid,
Riboflavin (vitamin B2, vitamin G) ,Thiamin (vitamin B1)
Vitamin A (retinol) ,Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine, pyridoxamine, or pyridoxal)
Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) ,Vitamin C (ascorbic acid)
Vitamin D (calciferol) ,Vitamin E (tocopherol)
Vitamin K (naphthoquinoids) ,


In addition :-

Carbon ( C) ; Hydrogen ( H ) , Oxygen ( O ) and Nitrogen(N) are also metabolites.

Answer 2

Metabolomics is the "systematic study of the unique chemical fingerprints that specific cellular processes leave behind" - specifically, the study of their small-molecule metabolite profiles. The metabolome represents the collection of all metabolites in a biological organism, which are the end products of its gene expression. Thus, while mRNA gene expression data and proteomic analyses do not tell the whole story of what might be happening in a cell, metabolic profiling can give an instantaneous snapshot of the physiology of that cell. One of the challenges of systems biology is to integrate proteomic, transcriptomic, and metabolomic information to give a more complete picture of living organisms.

Answer 3

Metabolites are small molecules that exist as intermediate or final products of metabolism, the complete set of chemical reactions that take place in cells.