The degradation of methylglyoxal starts with methylglyoxal being degraded by interacting with glutathione and a glyoxalase resulting in the release of a (R)-S-lactoylglutatione. This compound in turn reacts with a water molecule through a glyoxalase II resulting in the releas of glutathione, a hydrogen ion and an R-lactate. The R-lactate in turn reacts with an ubiquinone through a D-lactate dehydrogenase resulting in the release of an ubiquinol and a pyruvate which can then be incorporated the pyruvate metabolism

Methylglyoxal Degradation I References