The present work investigated the in vitro effects of D-serine (D-Ser) on important parameters of energy metabolism in cerebral cortex of young rats. The parameters analyzed were CO(2) generation from glucose and acetate, glucose uptake and the activities of the respiratory chain complexes I-IV, of the citric acid cycle enzymes citrate synthase, aconitase, isocitrate dehydrogenase, alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase, succinate dehydrogenase, fumarase and malate dehydrogenase and of creatine kinase and Na(+),K(+)-ATPase. Our results show that D-Ser significantly reduced CO(2) production from acetate, but not from glucose, reflecting an impairment of the citric acid cycle function. Furthermore, D-Ser did not affect glucose uptake. We also observed that the activity of the mitochondrial enzyme citrate synthase from mitochondrial preparations and purified citrate synthase was significantly inhibited by D-Ser, whereas the other activities of the citric acid cycle as well as the activities of complexes I-III, II-III, II and IV of the respiratory chain, creatine kinase and Na(+),K(+)-ATPase were not affected by this D-amino acid. We also found that L-serine did not affect citrate synthase activity from mitochondrial preparations and purified enzyme. The data indicate that D-Ser impairs the citric acid cycle activity via citrate synthase inhibition, therefore compromising energy metabolism production in cerebral cortex of young rats. Therefore, it is presumed that this mechanism may be involved at least in part in the neurological damage found in patients affected by disorders in which D-Ser metabolism is impaired, with altered cerebral concentrations of this D-amino acid.