phosphagen


phos·pha·gen

(fos'fă-jen), Energy-rich guanidinium or amidine phosphate, serving as an energy store in muscle and brain; for example, phosphocreatine in mammals, phosphoarginine in invertebrates. Other phosphagens include phosphoagmatine, phosphoglycocyamine, and phospholombricine.

phosphagen

(fŏs′fă-jĕn) Several chemicals, including phosphocreatine, that release energy when split. They are high-energy phosphate compounds.

phosphagen

a type of chemical found in the muscles of all animals, whose function is to pass on high-energy phosphate to ADP to form ATP. Phosphagens thus act as energy-storage molecules and are especially useful when cellular respiration is not providing sufficient ATP molecules, for example when sudden muscular activity takes place. Phosphagens are of two types: creatine phosphate found in vertebrates and echinoderms, and arginine phosphate found in many other invertebrates.