Pyruvate

Pyruvate (CH₃COCOO⁻) is an important chemical compound in biochemistry. It is the output of the breakdown of glucose known as glycolysis, and (in aerobic organisms) the main input for the citric acid cycle. In anerobic cells or organisms, pyruvate from glycolysis can be converted to lactate using the enzyme lactate dehydrogenase (in lactate fermentation), or to acetaldehyde and then to ethanol (in alcoholic fermentation).