Enter your Number of Acetyl-CoA Molecules and Complete Cycles, choose your Calculation Type, and toggle Include Pyruvate Oxidation to calculate your Total ATP Equivalent alongside a full breakdown of NADH, FADH₂, GTP, and CO₂ Produced across the Krebs Cycle.
Total ATP Equivalent
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NADH Produced
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FADH2 Produced
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GTP Produced
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CO₂ Produced
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One complete Krebs cycle produces 1 GTP (equivalent to 1 ATP), 3 NADH (equivalent to 7.5 ATP through electron transport), and 1 FADH2 (equivalent to 1.5 ATP), totaling 10 ATP equivalents per cycle.
NADH produces approximately 2.5 ATP molecules through the electron transport chain, while FADH2 produces about 1.5 ATP molecules. This difference is due to FADH2 entering the electron transport chain at a later point.
Glucose is broken down into two pyruvate molecules during glycolysis. Each pyruvate is converted to one acetyl-CoA, which then enters the Krebs cycle. Therefore, one glucose molecule results in two complete Krebs cycles.
The CO₂ produced during the Krebs cycle is a waste product that is released from the cell. In multicellular organisms, CO₂ is transported to the lungs and exhaled as part of cellular respiration.
GTP (guanosine triphosphate) is functionally equivalent to ATP and can be readily converted to ATP. In the Krebs cycle, one GTP is produced per cycle, which is counted as one ATP equivalent in energy calculations.
Pyruvate oxidation is the conversion of pyruvate to acetyl-CoA before entering the Krebs cycle. This step produces one NADH per pyruvate molecule and is often included in Krebs cycle calculations since it's directly linked to the cycle.
NADH and FADH2 produced in the Krebs cycle are electron carriers that donate electrons to the electron transport chain, where most ATP is actually produced through oxidative phosphorylation.