Phosphorus is a macromineral with numerous important biologic functions. Metabolites with a phosphorus moiety include structural lipids of the cell membrane (phospholipids) and nucleic acid molecules. Phosphorus metabolites also play an important role in metabolic activity and energy metabolism, processes that inherently depend on the capacity to phosphorylate intermediate metabolites and to store energy released during oxidative phosphorylation in high-energy phosphate bonds such as ATP or phosphocreatine. In skeletal muscle, phosphorus metabolites are essential for providing high-energy phosphates for contractile activity and structural integrity of the sarcolemma membrane and intracellular organelles including the sarcoplasmic and mitochondrial reticulum.
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