# Pentose Phosphate Pathway --- The **pentose phosphate pathway** is an alternative [[catabolism|catabolic]] pathway to [[glycolysis]], if a cell has enough ATP, and prefers to make building blocks instead. ## Products ### NADPH The cell can use [[NADP|NADPH]] to power later reactions. ### CO2 CO$_2$ is a waste byproduct that carries away the 6th carbon of the glucose. ### 5-Carbon Molecule The pentose phosphate pathway breaks down [[glucose]] into a 5-carbon molecule. This can then be used for various products, depending on what the cell needs. #### Ribose One potential use of that 5-carbon sugar is to make ribose sugar, which is essential for making [[nucleotide|nucleotides]]. #### Intermediate for Glycolysis One potential use of that 5-carbon sugar is to be further broken down into a 3-carbon and a 2-carbon molecule. The 3-carbon sugar can then be used to enter [[glycolysis]] as an intermediate product. ___