What term describes compounds that convert to glucose in the body?

• A. Glycogenetic
• B. Glycemic
• C. Gluconeogenic
• D. Glycosidic

Answer: (A)

The main concept is identifying a term for substances that can be converted into glucose through a specific metabolic pathway. Compounds that can feed gluconeogenesis are described as gluconeogenic. This term captures the idea that these substrates can be used to synthesize glucose, typically in the liver (and to some extent the kidney), from non-carbohydrate sources like lactate, glycerol, and glucogenic amino acids.

Glycogenetic would imply forming glycogen rather than glucose, which isn’t what’s being asked. Glycemic relates to the level of glucose in the blood, not the origin or production of glucose. Glycosidic refers to the bonds between sugar units, not to the production of glucose itself. So gluconeogenic is the precise descriptor for compounds that can be converted to glucose.