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Glycogen Synthesis and Breakdown

Glycogen synthase builds branches; glycogen phosphorylase cleaves them; insulin and glucagon flip the switch.

A free, animated glycogen synthesis and breakdown you can read here or embed on any website, from Scrollchart.

Glycogen Synthesis and Breakdown

Glycogen Synthesis and BreakdownInsulin builds branches via glycogen synthase, glucagon cleaves them via glycogen phosphorylaseFED STATE: glycogen synthesisPostprandial, blood glucose highInsulinbinds insulin receptorPI3K, Aktphosphorylation cascadeGSK3 inhibitedreleases brake on glycogen synthaseGlycogen synthase ACTIVEadds glucose to non-reducing endsBranching enzymecreates alpha-1,6 branch pointsbuildsFASTED STATE: glycogenolysisLow glucose, exercise, stressGlucagon or epinephrinebinds GPCR (liver, muscle)Adenylyl cyclase, cAMP upsecond messenger risesPKA activephosphorylates phosphorylase kinaseGlycogen phosphorylase ACTIVEcleaves alpha-1,4 bondsGlucose-1-phosphate releasedfeeds glycolysis or G6Pase to bloodcleavesStores:liver ~100 g (exported as glucose), skeletal muscle ~400 g (used locally), brain none. Depletion drives gluconeogenesis and ketogenesis.

Glycogen tree icon growing under insulin signaling (glycogen synthase active) and shrinking under glucagon/epinephrine signaling (glycogen phosphorylase active).

Good for

  • Fed vs fasted state explainers
  • Endurance athlete glycogen depletion content
  • Diabetes and insulin signaling articles

Source & accuracy

This glycogen synthesis and breakdown is an editorial illustration built to represent the concept accurately. Where it shows figures, they are typical or representative values chosen to make the relationship clear, not a single underlying dataset. The diagram and its explainer are reviewed and maintained centrally, and updated over time as understanding improves.

Storing and releasing glucose as a branched polymer

Glycogen is a highly branched polymer of glucose stored mainly in liver and muscle. When glucose is plentiful, glycogen synthase adds glucose units to growing chains and a branching enzyme creates new branch points, which increases the number of free ends available for rapid mobilization. When glucose is needed, glycogen phosphorylase cleaves glucose units from those ends, releasing glucose-1-phosphate.

The hormonal switch between building and breaking

Insulin promotes storage by activating glycogen synthase and inhibiting phosphorylase, so glycogen is built after meals. Glucagon (in the liver) and adrenaline (in muscle and liver) flip the switch toward breakdown when energy or blood glucose is needed. A key distinction is that liver glycogen can release free glucose into the blood, while muscle glycogen lacks glucose-6-phosphatase and is used locally for the muscle's own energy. General educational information about metabolism, not medical advice.

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Reference

What this is
A free, embeddable, animated glycogen synthesis and breakdown for any website.
Who uses it
Medical educators, Fitness blogs, Nutrition blogs.
How to embed
Copy one line of HTML. No signup. No watermark. Works in WordPress, Webflow, Ghost, Substack, plain HTML.
File size
iframe embed, ~80 KB gzipped (loads on demand, does not block your page paint).
License
Free forever. Editorial explainer text included; updated centrally over time.
URL
scrollchart.com/diagram/glycogen-synthesis-breakdown

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Frequently asked questions

Where can I get a free animated "Glycogen Synthesis and Breakdown" for my website?
Scrollchart provides "Glycogen Synthesis and Breakdown" as a free, embeddable animated diagram you can add to any website with one line of HTML. No signup is required and there is no watermark. The diagram and its explainer text are served from scrollchart.com, so the embed stays current without any maintenance on your end.
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Copy the HTML snippet from the Scrollchart diagram page and paste it into any post or page in your CMS. It works in WordPress, Webflow, Ghost, Substack, and plain HTML without any plugin or account. The diagram renders as animated SVG directly in your page, so search engines can index the accompanying explainer text.
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