Fatty acid degradation pathway

The **fatty acid degradation pathway** (also called fatty acid β-oxidation or fatty acid oxidation, FAO) is a highly conserved metabolic process whereby fatty acids—after activation by conversion to acyl-CoA—are transported into mitochondria or peroxisomes and sequentially degraded through cycles of oxidation, hydration, and cleavage to produce acetyl-CoA, NADH, and FADH₂, which feed into the TCA cycle and the electron transport chain to generate ATP[1][2][3][4][5][8]. Major steps include lipolysis, fatty acid activation, mitochondrial or peroxisomal import, and β-oxidation cycles[1][3][5][8]. Dysregulation of the pathway or inherited enzyme deficiencies can cause energy metabolism disorders and contribute to pathologies including cancer, heart disease, and immunological dysfunction[2][4].

Other names

Fatty acid β-oxidationfatty acid oxidationFAObeta-oxidation pathway

Not applicable at the pathway level. For enzyme inhibitors, e.g., CPT1 inhibition reduces β-oxidation and lowers ATP production from fatty acid catabolism[2].