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Glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase or 3-phosphoglycerol) catalyzes the conversion of dihydroxyacetone phosphate (DHAP) to glycerol-3-phosphate.

In yeast, plants, and animals, the glycerol-3-phosphate (G-3-P) shuttle is a critical mechanism for transporting cytosolic reducing equivalents into mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation. The glycerol-3-phosphate shuttle allows NADH (produced in the cytoplasm during glycolysis) to contribute to the oxidative phosphorylation pathway (in the mitochondria) to produce ATP.

The synthesis of ATP in mitochondria would be reduced if metformin inhibited 3-phosphoglycerol dehydrogenase as the conversion of dihydroxyacetone phosphate (DHAP) to glycerol-3-phosphate is inhibited that shuttles NADH from cytoplasm to mitochondria for oxidative phosphorylation.