| A | (electron) acceptor |
| AdoHcy | S-adenosyl-L-homocysteine |
| AdoMet | S-adenosyl-L-methionine |
| ADP | adenosine 5'-diphosphate |
| AH2 | reduced (electron) acceptor |
| Ala | L-alanine |
| AMP | adenosine 5'-phosphate |
| Ara | L-arabinose |
| Arg | L-arginine |
| Asn | L-asparagine |
| Asp | L-aspartic acid |
| ATP | adenosine 5'-triphosphate |
| CDP | cytidine 5'-diphosphate |
| CMP | cytidine 5'-phosphate |
| CoA | coenzyme A |
| CTP | cytidine 5'-triphosphate |
| Cys | L-cysteine |
| DNA | deoxyribonucleic acid |
| dTDP | thymidine 5'-diphosphate |
| dTMP | thymidine 5'-phosphate |
| DTT | dithiothreitol |
| dTTP | thymidine 5'-triphosphate |
| EDTA | ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid |
| FAD | flavin-adenine dinucleotide |
| FADH2 | reduced flavin-adenine dinucleotide |
| FMN | flavin mononucleotide (riboflavin 5'-phosphate) |
| FMNH2 | reduced flavin mononucleotide (riboflavin 5'-phosphate) |
| Fru | D-fructose |
| Fuc | L-fucose |
| Gal | D-galactose |
| GDP | guanosine 5'-diphosphate |
| Glc | D-glucose |
| GlcN | D-glucosamine |
| GlcNAc | N-acetyl-D-glucosamine |
| Gln | L-glutamine |
| Glu | L-glutamic acid |
| Gly | glycine |
| GMP | guanosine 5'-phosphate |
| GSH | glutathione |
| GSSG | glutathione disulfide |
| GTP | guanosine 5'-triphosphate |
| His | L-histidine |
| Ido | idose |
| IDP | inosine 5'-diphosphate |
| Ig | immunoglobulin |
| Ile | L-isoleucine |
| IMP | inosine 5'-phosphate |
| ITP | inosine 5'-triphosphate |
| Kdo | 3-deoxy-α-D-manno-oct-2-ulopyranosylonate |
| Km | Michaelis constant |
| Leu | L-leucine |
| Lys | L-lysine |
| Man | D-mannose |
| Met | L-methionine |
| mRNA | messenger ribonucleic acid |
| Mur | muramic acid |
| NAD(P)+ | indicates either NAD+ or NADP+ |
| NAD(P)H | indicates either NADH or NADPH |
| NAD+ | β-nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide |
| NADH | reduced β-nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide |
| NADP+ | β-nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide phosphate |
| NADPH | reduced β-nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide phosphate |
| NDP | nucleoside 5'-diphosphate |
| Neu | neuraminate |
| NeuNAc | N-acetylneuraminate |
| NMN | nicotinamide mononucleotide |
| NMP | nucleoside 5'-phosphate |
| NTP | nucleoside 5'-triphosphate |
| Orn | L-ornithine |
| -P- | phosphate (in diagrams only) |
| Pi | phosphate (in diagrams only) |
| PPi | diphosphate (in diagrams only) |
| PEP | phosphoenolpyruvate |
| Phe | L-phenylalanine |
| PQQ | pyrroloquinoline quinone |
| Pro | L-proline |
| Pyl | L-pyrrolysine |
| Rha | L-rhamnose |
| Rib | D-ribose |
| RNA | ribonucleic acid |
| rRNA | ribosomal ribonucleic acid |
| Sar | N-methylglycine (sarcosine) |
| Sec | L-selenocysteine |
| Ser | L-serine |
| Thr | L-threonine |
| tRNA | transfer ribonucleic acid |
| Trp | L-tryptophan |
| Tyr | L-tyrosine |
| UDP | uridine 5'-diphosphate |
| UMP | uridine 5'-phosphate |
| UTP | uridine 5'-triphosphate |
| Val | L-valine |
| Vmax | maximum or limiting velocity |
| Xaa | symbol for an amino acid of unknown constitution in peptide formula |
| XMP | xanthosine 5'-phosphate |
| Xyl | D-xylose |