Bioenergy RIBOSE is a bioactive ingredient that energizes functional foods, beverages, and nutraceuticals. Ribose is the vital structural backbone of critical cellular compounds called purines and pyrimidines. Our bodies must have an adequate supply of purines and pyrimidines to form major cellular constituents such as our genetic material (DNA and RNA), numerous cofactors, certain vitamins, and, importantly, adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the "energy currency" of the cell. Ribose is the starting point for the synthesis of these fundamental cellular compounds, and the availability of ribose determines the rate at which they can be made by our cells and tissues.