Final answer:
In β-oxidation, 2 carbon fragments are removed from the carboxyl end of acyl-CoA, producing acetyl-CoA, NADH, and FADH2. The process occurs in the mitochondria and converts fatty acids into acetyl-CoA units.
Step-by-step explanation:
In β-oxidation, 2 carbon fragments are successively removed from the carboxyl end of the catty acyl coA producing acetyl-CoA, NADH, and FADH2.
β-oxidation is a metabolic process involving the oxidation of fatty acids. It occurs within the mitochondria in eukaryotes. The acyl-CoA is transported into the mitochondria and then subjected to a cycle of four reactions that successively cleave off two carbon fragments in the form of acetyl-CoA. This happens until the entire fatty acid chain is converted into multiple acetyl-CoA units. Acetyl-CoA then enters the citric acid cycle, while NADH and FADH2 are utilized in the electron transport chain to generate ATP.
This process requires a set of enzymes, such as β-keto thiolase, and coenzymes like coenzyme A, NAD+, and FAD. The number of β-oxidation cycles a fatty acid undergoes depends on the number of carbon atoms present in the fatty acid chain. For a long-chain fatty acid like stearic acid, which has 18 carbon atoms, β-oxidation would occur n/2 - 1 times, where n is the total number of carbon atoms in the fatty acid.