Miranda Kearney
90126
What is DNP? Even though cellular respiration has different parts to it that contributes to different outcomes, it has an overall goal. The overall goal of cell respiration is to make ATP and water. Cellular respiration requires oxygen and it generates carbon dioxide. Gases are exchanged with the environment. Energy is neither created nor destroyed, so energy starts in chemical bonds of organic molecules, but ends up in ATP bonds. Chemical energy is transferred from one molecule to another. Covalent bonds break in organic molecules, and energized electrons are released. Oxidative phosphorylation is when energy from electrons is used to make ATP in the mitochondria later on. An electron transport …show more content…
This problem is called “uncoupling”. 2, 4-dinitrophenol, or DNP, is involved in uncoupling. Uncoupling is when the consumption of oxygen is stimulated systematically, and the formation of high-energy phosphate bonds is decreased by DNP. This all occurs in the mitochondria (Grundlingh et al. 2011). DNP can alter the process of oxidative phosphorylation, and this can lead to weight loss. In order to produce ATP, the body uses carbohydrates and lipids. DNP can mess this up by interfering with ATP as it is being produced. Protons are transferred across the membrane, and this is what disturbs the process of ATP. Since the body needs fats and carbohydrates in order to make energy, and they do not have that in this situation, the metabolic rate of the body increases. This turns fats and carbohydrates into energy. Since energy is transferred into heat, the heat makes the fat burn. This process leads to weight loss (Cotton 2015). Hyperthermia is when the body temperature of an organism is above normal by a large amount. Websites show that the toxicity in DNP causes hyperthermia (Grundlingh et al. 2011). In oxidative phosphorylation, protons are transferred over the membrane to interfere with ATP production. The amount of protons increases in the membrane, and the gradient changes due to the movement of protons. The change in the amount of protons and location of protons …show more content…
DNP was first used in World War I, when it was used to manufacture munitions. In addition to that, DNP was also used for dye, herbicides, and wood preserver. In 1933, it was discovered that DNP can be used for weight loss and that it causes an increase in someone’s metabolism. DNP was used less and less throughout the century when people found out that it caused deaths. In the 1980s, stories came out about how Russians used DNP for their troops. People were so happy about DNP and made claims about how they lost 20 pounds in only two weeks. DNP was promoted as “the king of fat-loss drugs” (Cotton 2015). Athletes and bodybuilders used it to lose weight quickly and get muscular. People also claimed to use it as a slimming aid (Cotton 2015). Nowadays, DNP is sold on the internet in most cases, and has different names such as “Dinosan”, “Dnoc”, and “Chemox” (Grundling et al. 2011). If I had a friend that was considering using DNP for weight loss, I would give her advice and tell her not to use it. Since there is proof that DNP is has fatal effects, even if it is a slim chance, I would not recommend it to people. I would suggest that there are other ways to lose weight such as portioning meals, and exercising. Prior to our discussion about cellular respiration, I feel like my view on DNP would’ve been different. I didn’t know much on cellular respiration and how DNP can have a