Which compound is produced during glycolysis along with ATP?

During glycolysis, glucose is metabolized to pyruvate, and this process generates two key products: ATP and NADH.

NADH is a crucial molecule because it acts as an electron carrier, which is vital for later stages of cellular respiration, particularly in the electron transport chain. As glucose is broken down in glycolysis, it undergoes oxidation, leading to the reduction of NAD+ to NADH. This conversion is important as it helps facilitate the process of generating energy in the form of ATP.

ATP is produced directly through substrate-level phosphorylation during the glycolytic pathway, which occurs when a phosphate group is transferred from a high-energy substrate molecule to ADP, forming ATP.

Other compounds such as Acetyl-CoA, citric acid, and glucose-6-phosphate are associated with different metabolic processes. Acetyl-CoA is a product of pyruvate metabolism and enters the citric acid cycle, citric acid is a component of the citric acid cycle itself, and glucose-6-phosphate is an early product of glucose metabolism but is not directly produced alongside ATP in the glycolysis pathway. Thus, NADH is the correct compound produced during glycolysis along with ATP.