Acetyl-CoA is an "activated" two carbon compound found in many central metabolic pathways, including the citric acid cycle, the glyoxylate cycle, fatty acid synthesis, fatty acid oxidation, isoprene metabolism, amino sugar metabolism, ketone body metabolism, and cholesterol biosynthesis. The term "activated" used to describe the compound comes partly from the nature of the high energy thioester bond in the molecule with a of -31.5 kJ/mol. Acetyl-CoA is one of the most ubiquitous metabolites in biological systems.

Acetyl-CoA is also an allosteric regulator of the enzymes pyruvate kinase (turns it off), pyruvate carboxylase (turns it on).

1. Glyoxylate Cycle Metabolism

2. Citric Acid Cycle