Bongkrek acid is a respiratory

Cellular respiration

Cellular respiration is the set of the metabolic reactions and processes that take place in the cells of organisms to convert biochemical energy from nutrients into adenosine triphosphate , and then release waste products. The reactions involved in respiration are catabolic reactions that involve...

 toxin

Toxin

A toxin is a poisonous substance produced within living cells or organisms; man-made substances created by artificial processes are thus excluded...

 more deadly than other mitochondrial

Mitochondrion

In cell biology, a mitochondrion is a membrane-enclosed organelle found in most eukaryotic cells. These organelles range from 0.5 to 1.0 micrometers in diameter...

 poisons cyanide

Cyanide

A cyanide is a chemical compound that contains the cyano group, -C≡N, which consists of a carbon atom triple-bonded to a nitrogen atom. Cyanides most commonly refer to salts of the anion CN−. Most cyanides are highly toxic....

 or 2,4-dinitrophenol

2,4-Dinitrophenol

2,4-Dinitrophenol , C6H4N2O5, is a cellular metabolic poison. It uncouples oxidative phosphorylation by carrying protons across the mitochondrial membrane, leading to a rapid consumption of energy without generation of ATP....

. There was some dispute regarding the actual structure of bongkrek acid (also known as bongkrekic acid) but this was resolved in 1973, which explains different structures appearing in the literature prior to this date.

It is produced in fermented

Fermentation (food)

Fermentation in food processing typically is the conversion of carbohydrates to alcohols and carbon dioxide or organic acids using yeasts, bacteria, or a combination thereof, under anaerobic conditions. Fermentation in simple terms is the chemical conversion of sugars into ethanol...

 coconut

Coconut

The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...

 contaminated by the bacterium Burkholderia gladioli pathovar cocovenenans. In particular, it has been implicated in deaths resulting from eating the soybean and coconut-based product known as tempe bongkrèk, which is banned in Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

.

It is highly toxic because of its effect on the ATP/ADP translocation

Adenine nucleotide translocator

Adenine nucleotide translocator also known as the ADP/ATP translocator is a mitochondrial protein.- Function :ANT has long been thought to function asymmetrically as a homodimer of subunits in the inner mitochondrial membrane. The dimer was thought to be a gated pore through which ADP and ATP were...

mechanism. It shuts this system down, preventing ATP from leaving the mitochondria and providing energy to the rest of the cell.