Both glycerol-3-phosphate and its close relative 3-phosphoglycerate are intermediaries in the glycolysis pathway, the major biochemical pathway for energy production in animals.
The glyceraldehyde produced may also be converted to glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate by glyceraldehyde kinase or converted to glycerol 3-phosphate by glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase.