D-Ribose
Endogenous five-carbon sugar that is phosphorylated by ribokinase to ribose-5-phosphate and then enters pentose-phosphate, nucleotide, and glycolytic metabolism. Oral D-ribose is absorbed and cleared within minutes, with exposure increasing more than proportionally from 2.5 to 10 g because metabolism becomes saturated. Evidence for exercise performance is mixed and does not establish a general ergogenic effect. A fasted 10 g dose can substantially lower serum glucose.
Projected serum levels — 5k mg, once daily
Maintenance schedule: 5k mg once daily (oral).
Modeled steady state after ~1 days: peak ≈ 1.6k mg, trough ≈ 0.000 mg body load. Population-based estimate over 15 days for a 5k mg dose at a 70 kg reference body mass — the interactive app scales curves to your doses, timing, and body mass.
Key facts
- Category
- Carbohydrate
- Route modeled
- Oral
- Model confidence
- inferred
- Half-life
- 20 min
- Common dose
- 5k mg
- Suggested maximum
- 10k mg/day
- Reference dose range
- 2.5k–10k mg (single dose)
- Suggested cadence
- once daily
- Validated against
- 10k mg oral — Cmax 202 mg/L at 0.50 h
Research behind this entry
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Evaluation of D-ribose pharmacokinetics, dose proportionality, food effect, and pharmacodynamics after oral solution administration in healthy male and female subjects
Randomized crossover study in 12 healthy adults found rapid absorption, 18-30 minute Tmax, more-than-proportional exposure from 2.5 to 10 g, and large reductions in exposure with food. Serum glucose fell in a…
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Understanding D-Ribose and Mitochondrial Function
Narrative review explains ribose phosphorylation, pentose-phosphate metabolism, and the biochemical rationale for supplying nucleotide precursor. It is mechanistic background rather than controlled evidence that…
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The influence of D-ribose ingestion and fitness level on performance and recovery
Double-blind crossover study assigned 26 healthy adults to 10 g/day D-ribose or dextrose during a five-day loading and repeated-exercise protocol. Power, perceived exertion, and creatine kinase favored ribose only in…
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Mitochondrial bioenergetics and D-ribose in HFpEF - a brief narrative review
Narrative review discusses impaired myocardial bioenergetics in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction and proposes D-ribose as a candidate substrate. It does not establish clinical efficacy, relies on limited…
5 published studies referenced in the app, each with a plain-language summary.