What is the importance of ATP and NADPH???

Question

What is the importance of ATP and NADPH???

Answer 1

ATP is the high energy phopspate that is used as the major energy "currency " of the cell. We spend the ATP ( that is, we hydrolyze it and use the energy contained in its phosphate bonds) to provide the energy necessary to drive uphill reactions ( those requring energy input ). Over 90% of the ATP of the ell is produced within the mitochondrion by a prcess called oxidative phosphorylation in which respiration is couples to ATP production. It uses oxygen as the terminal oxidizing agent and it becomes reduced to water.

NADPH is a co-enzyme produced in various pathways,particularly the pentse shunt, and is used for its reducing power. That is it provides a powerful reducing H- to reduce a wide variety of substrates. For instance NADPH provides the reducing power for making fatty acids, and for reducing cytochrome P-450 oxidase that is used in liver metabolism of drugs, toxins, etc . It als is used as the rweducing power for many other reactions .