ABSTRACT
The coenzyme adenosine triphosphate (ATP) acts as the central link between energy-yielding metabolic pathways and energy expenditure on physical and chemical work. The oxidation of metabolic fuels is linked to the phosphorylation of adenosine diphosphate (ADP) to adenosine triphosphate (ATP); the expenditure of metabolic energy for the synthesis of body constituents, transport of compounds across cell membranes and the contraction of muscle results overall in the hydrolysis of ATP to yield ADP and phosphate ions. The total body content of ATP plus ADP is under 350 mmol, but the amount of ATP synthesized and used each day is about 100 mol-an amount equal to the total body weight.
