Converting Adenosine Tri-Phosphate (ATP) into Energy

Fitness Nutrition Case 4
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Fitness Nutrition Case 4
Adenosine tri-phosphate (ATP) is the primary energy-storing and energy-transferring molecule in the body. It is widely regarded as the cell’s energy currency. It stores energy for future reactions and releases the same for energy-consuming endergonic reactions and energy-releasing exergonic reactions that need some little input of activation energy. ATP is converted into energy by breaking the chemical bonds within the ATP molecule: this breakdown of the ATP molecule releases energy that can be used for cellular work. The more chemical bonds in an ATP molecule, the more energy it stores. Since the ATP molecule bond is easily broken and restructured, the energy currency works like a rechargeable battery that powers various cellular processes from protein synthesis to DNA replication. In order to understand how ATP is converted into energy within the human body, it is important first to examine the molecular structure of the energy currency itself. ATP is a nucleotide comprising the nitrogenous adenine base linked to five-carbon ribose sugar, which is in turn connected to three phosphate groups.
These phosphate groups are named in their order of proximity to the five-carbon sugar ribose as alpha, beta, and gamma. These three phosphate groups are conjoined together by two high-energy bonds referred to as phosphoanhydride bonds. ATP is relatively unstable owing to the three neighboring negative charges in the phosphate tail that are pushed to get away from one another. Consequently, the three phosphate groups can be ...