Malate is the ionized form of malic acid

Malic acid

Malic acid is an organic compound with the formula HO2CCH2CHOHCO2H. It is a dicarboxylic acid which is made by all living organisms, contributes to the pleasantly sour taste of fruits, and is used as a food additive. Malic acid has two stereoisomeric forms , though only the L-isomer exists...

. It is an important chemical compound

Chemical compound

A chemical compound is a pure chemical substance consisting of two or more different chemical elements that can be separated into simpler substances by chemical reactions. Chemical compounds have a unique and defined chemical structure; they consist of a fixed ratio of atoms that are held together...

 in biochemistry

Biochemistry

Biochemistry, sometimes called biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes in living organisms, including, but not limited to, living matter. Biochemistry governs all living organisms and living processes...

. In the C4 carbon fixation

C4 carbon fixation

C4 carbon fixation is one of three biochemical mechanisms, along with and CAM photosynthesis, used in carbon fixation. It is named for the 4-carbon molecule present in the first product of carbon fixation in these plants, in contrast to the 3-carbon molecule products in plants. fixation is an...

 process, malate is a source of CO₂

Carbon dioxide

Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...

 in the Calvin cycle

Calvin cycle

The Calvin cycle or Calvin–Benson-Bassham cycle or reductive pentose phosphate cycle or C3 cycle or CBB cycle is a series of biochemical redox reactions that take place in the stroma of chloroplasts in photosynthetic organisms...

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In the Citric Acid Cycle, (S)-malate is an intermediate formed by the addition of an -OH

Alcohol

In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....

 group on the si face of fumarate; it can also be formed from pyruvate via anaplerotic reactions

Anaplerotic reactions

Anaplerotic reactions are those that form intermediates of a metabolic pathway. Examples of such are found in the Tricarboxylic acid Cycle...

. Malate dehydrogenase

Malate dehydrogenase

Malate dehydrogenase is an enzyme in the citric acid cycle that catalyzes the conversion of malate into oxaloacetate and vice versa...

 catalyzes the reversible conversion of malate into oxaloacetate using NAD

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, abbreviated NAD, is a coenzyme found in all living cells. The compound is a dinucleotide, since it consists of two nucleotides joined through their phosphate groups. One nucleotide contains an adenine base and the other nicotinamide.In metabolism, NAD is involved...

 as a cofactor

Cofactor

Cofactor may refer to any of the following:* Cofactor , the signed minor of a matrix* Minor , an alternative name for the determinant of a smaller matrix than that which it describes...

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