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Glycolysis is the metabolic process through which glucose is converted into pyruvate molecules and hydrogen ions. The free energy created during this process is utilized to make the high-energy molecules such as ATP and NADH.

Glycolysis starts with a single glucose molecule and ends with two pyruvate molecules, two ATP molecules, and two NADH molecules.

The reduction of NAD⁺ produces NADH during glycolysis when glyceraldehydes-3-phosphate is transformed to 1,3-biphosphoglycerate. NADH produced in glycolysis can be oxidized to get free energy. The oxidation of NADH drives the synthesis of ATP through electron transport chain.

In presence of oxygen,the pyruvate produced in glycolysis can be oxidized in cellular respiration all the way down to carbon dioxide to yield many ATP molecules through citric acid cycle.