Alpha oxidation of dietary phytanic acid takes place in which of the following cell structures?: (A) ER, (B) Golgi apparatus, (C) Mitochondria, (D) Peroxisomes
Answer is D. Alpha-oxidation takes place in peroxisomes to break down dietary phytanic acid, which cannot undergo beta-oxidation due to its b-methyl branch, into pristanic acid, which can. Alpha oxidation (a-oxidation) is a process by which ceain fatty acids are broken down by removal of a single carbon from the carboxyl end.