This chemical substance is involved in cellular respiration, which is the breakdown of glucose molecules into ATP. ATP is the body's main source of energy. Roughly 36 molecules of ATP are produced by one glucose molecule.
NADH is a
hydrogen carrier. It starts off as NAD, but when the excess hydrogen
atoms (actually H20) are shed during the
anabolism (also known as
dehydration synthesis) of certain substances, the NAD picks up the hydrogen on the excess water molecule and uses it in
catabolism, also known as
dehydration synthesis, which helps to break down glucose as mentioned above. In sum, NADH is an
integral part of cellular respiration.