In several cases, the keto group is hydrated. The alpha-keto acids are especially important in biology as they are involved in the Krebs citric acid cycle and in glycolysis. Alpha-keto acids, alpha-ketoacids, or 2-oxoacids have the keto group adjacent to the carboxylic acid. They often arise by oxidative deamination of amino acids, and reciprocally, they are precursors to the same. Alpha-keto acids possesses extensive chemistry as acylation agents. Furthermore, alpha-keto acids such as phenylpyruvic acid are endogenous sources for carbon monoxide (as a gasotransmitter) and pharmaceutical prodrug scaffold. Important representatives: pyruvic acid, carb-blocking formula pervasive intermediate in metabolism. 5-carbon ketoacid derived from glutamic acid. Alpha-ketoglutarate participates in cell signaling by functioning as a coenzyme. It is commonly used in transamination reactions. Keto acids appear in a wide variety of anabolic pathways in metabolism. For instance, in plants (specifically, in hemlock, pitcher plants, and fool’s parsley), 5-oxo-octanoic acid is converted in enzymatic and non-enzymatic steps into the cyclic class of coniine alkaloids. When ingested sugars and carbohydrate levels are low, stored fats and proteins are the primary source of energy production.

Glucogenic amino acids from proteins and/or Glycerol from Triglycerides are converted to glucose. Ketogenic amino acids can be deaminated to produce alpha keto acids and ketone bodies. Alpha keto acids are used primarily as energy for liver cells and in fatty acid synthesis, also in the liver. Franz Dietrich Klingler, Wolfgang Ebertz “Oxocarboxylic Acids” in Ullmann’s Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry 2005, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim. Nelson, D. L.