Phosphoribosyl pyrophosphate (PRPP) pentasodium is a crucial metabolite for the biosynthesis of purine and pyrimidine nucleotides and the amino acids histidine and tryptophan, as well as a precursor for the cofactors NAD and NADP.

Phosphoribosyl diphosphate (PRPP) pentasodium serves as a crucial intermediate in cellular metabolism, synthesized via the action of PRPP synthase from ribose 5-phosphate and ATP, yielding PRPP and AMP. PRPP, ubiquitous in living organisms, participates in substitution reactions leading to glycosidic bond formation. It plays a pivotal role in the biosynthesis of purine and pyrimidine nucleotides, amino acids like histidine and tryptophan, cofactors such as NAD and tetrahydromethanopterin, arabinosyl monophosphodecaprenol, and some aminoglycoside antibiotics. Additionally, as a common substrate for adenine phosphoribosyltransferase and hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase, PRPP pentasodium accumulates in human erythrocytes deficient in hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase. The addition of 5-Phosphoribosyl-1-pyrophosphate to purified adenine phosphoribosyltransferase has been shown to enhance its stability against heat inactivation.