Glyceric acid


Glyceric acid is a natural three-carbon sugar acid obtained from the oxidation of glycerol.
CH2OH-CHOH-CH2OH+→CH2OH-CHOH-COOH+H2O
Salts and esters of glyceric acid are known as glycerates.

Biochemistry

Several phosphate derivatives of glyceric acid, including 2-phosphoglyceric acid, 3-phosphoglyceric acid, 2,3-bisphosphoglyceric acid, and 1,3-bisphosphoglyceric acid, are important biochemical intermediates in glycolysis.
3-phosphoglyceric acid is an important molecule for the biosynthesis of the amino acid serine, which in turn can be used in the synthesis of glycine and cysteine.