ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the history of the discovery of mitochondria and their role in metabolism is discussed. From the great “father of metabolism” Antoine Lavoisier, to Eduard Pfluger who realized that respiration occurs within cells rather than in the blood, to Carl Benda and Leonor Michaelis who first visualized mitochondria, the history leading to the current understanding of mitochondria is traced. The contributions of Charles MacMunn and David Keilin to finding respiratory pigments are discussed, as well as the research of Otto Warbourg, Heinrich Wieland, and Hans Krebs, who discovered the Krebs cycle and its role in glycolysis. In addition, the hypothesis of Peter Mitchell that an electron transport chain releases energy to generate a proton gradient across the mitochondrial membrane is also addressed. Finally, this chapter examines the multiple new clinical trials currently underway for a variety of diseases, all of which are built upon the foundation of basic mitochondria-based research.
