GLOSSARY

Dihydroxyacetone Phosphate (DHAP) is a triose phosphate linking glycolysis and glycerol-backbone supply.

Cytosolic glycolysis generates pyruvate, reduced carriers and net ATP from glucose or suitable input. It does not directly require oxygen and also runs during aerobic activity. Pyruvate-to-lactate conversion helps regenerate oxidized carrier for continuation. Lactate therefore does not prove absent oxygen, and glycolysis is not only an emergency oxygen-shortage system. The fate of its products depends on demand, compartment and downstream capacity rather than the pathway name alone.

Phosphorylated intermediates retain glucose-derived carbon within cellular networks and support cleavage and group-transfer steps. Glucose phosphate can branch toward glycolysis, glycogen or the pentose pathway; some trioses also link glycerol synthesis. An intermediate's name identifies chemistry, not a guarantee that a higher level means greater flux. Its presence does not create a direct supplement recommendation, and local accumulation may reflect supply, consumption or a downstream constraint.

Pyruvate can exchange with lactate or alanine or undergo oxidative conversion to acetyl-CoA with carbon dioxide release. Under usual physiology, that conversion is not a direct reversible route back from acetyl-CoA to pyruvate. Branching depends on regulation and demand. Pyruvic acid and pyruvate are related forms. The intermediate's role does not prove supplementation improves fat loss or performance, and alternative fates should not be collapsed into one compulsory destination.