Fig. 1From: 5-aminolevulinic acid combined with ferrous ion reduces adiposity and improves glucose tolerance in diet-induced obese mice via enhancing mitochondrial functionHeme synthesis pathway in animal cells. ALA is synthesized by the condensation of glycine and succinyl CoA via mitochondrial ALA synthase. The polymerization of 8 molecules of ALA in several subsequent steps produces protoporphyrin IX (PpIX). Heme is synthesized by the insertion of a ferrous ion into PpIX, and incorporated into proteins to produce heme-proteins such as hemoglobin, cytochrome, and P450Back to article page