A metabolite is a chemical species participating in metabolism, as a substrate, intermediate, product, or regulator. For example, pyruvate links glycolysis with several downstream pathways.
The same metabolite can belong to multiple pathways, so its concentration alone does not uniquely reveal the rate of one reaction. Measurements of metabolite amounts and measurements of metabolic flux answer different questions.
A hydroxyglutarate metabolite whose enantiomer and source matter. The R form accumulates after the neomorphic reaction of certain cancer-associated IDH1 mutants.
