Lipids

An organic compound
found in living
organisms that is
insoluble (or only
sparingly soluble) in
water but soluble in
nonpolar organic
solvents.
Lipid
Structure:
Composed of fats,
oils and waxes.

1.Head (glycerol)
2.Tails (fatty acids)
five categories on the basis of lipid function:
1. Energy-storage lipids (triacylglycerols)
2. Membrane lipids (phospholipids, sphingoglycolipids,
and cholesterol)
3. Emulsification lipids (bile acids)
4. Messenger lipids (steroid hormones and eicosanoids)
5. Protective-coating lipids (biological waxes)
Lipids are commonly subdivided into four main
groups:
1.Fatty acids (saturated and unsaturated)
2.Glycerides (glycerol- containing lipids)
3.Nonglyceride lipids (sphingolipids,
steroids, waxes)
4.Complex lipids (lipoproteins)
Fatty Acids a naturally occurring long chain of
monocarboxylic acid.
It always contain an even number
of carbon atoms
a carbon chain that is unbranched
rarely found free in nature but
rather occur as part of the
structure of more complex lipid
molecules.
Saturated Fats
• a fatty acid with a carbon chain in which all carbon–carbon bonds are
single bonds. The structural formula for the 16-carbon
Monounsaturated Fat
 are fatty acids that have one double bond in the fatty acid chain with all of the
remainder carbon atoms being single-bonded.
 the configuration about the double bond is nearly always cis
Polyunsaturated • (of an organic compound,
fatty acid especially a fat or oil molecule)
containing several double or
triple bonds between carbon
atoms. Polyunsaturated fats,
which are usually of plant
origin, are regarded as healthier
in the diet than saturated fats.

IUPAC name: cis,cis-9,12-octadecadienoic acid

Common name: linoleic acid
Unsaturated fatty acid

•a fat or fatty acid in which there is one or

more double bond in the fatty acid chain.
Unsaturated Fatty Acids and Double-Bond
Position
• To specify double-bond positioning within the carbon chain of an
unsaturated fatty acid, the preceding notation is expanded by adding
the Greek capital letter delta () followed by one or more superscript
numbers. The notation 18:3(9,12,15) denotes a C18 PUFA with three
double bonds at locations between carbons 9 and 10, 12 and 13, and
15 and 16.
An omega-3 fatty acid is an unsaturated fatty acid
with its endmost double bond three carbon atoms
away from its methyl end. An example of an
omega-3 fatty acid is
An omega-6 fatty acid is an unsaturated fatty acid
with its endmost double bond six carbon atoms
away from its methyl end
Physical Properties of Fatty Acids
Water solubility
a) solubility decreases as carbon chain length increases.
b) Short-chain fatty acids have a slight solubility in water.
c) Long-chain fatty acids are essentially insoluble in water.
d) The slight solubility of short-chain fatty acids is related to the
polarity of the carboxyl group present.
e) In longerchain fatty acids, the nonpolar nature of the hydrocarbon
chain completely dominates solubility considerations.
Physical Properties of Fatty Acids
Melting points
a) fatty acids are strongly influenced by both carbon chain length and
degree of unsaturation (number of double bonds present).
b) Depend on chain length and saturation.
c) Unsaturated fatty acids are solid in room temperature.
Physical Properties of
Fatty Acids
 The melting points of both
saturated and unsaturated fatty
acids increase as the number of
carbon atoms in the chain
increases.
 The melting points of
unsaturated fatty acids are lower
than those of the corresponding
saturated fatty acid with the
same number of carbon atoms.
 As the number of double bonds
in the chain increases, the
melting point decrease.
ENERGY-STORAGE LIPIDS:
TRIACYLGLYCEROLS
triacylglycerol is a lipid formed by esterification of three fatty acids
to a glycerol molecule.
• Lipids known as triacylglycerols
also function within the body as
energy-storage materials.
• triacylglycerols are concentrated
primarily in special cells
(adipocytes) that are nearly filled
with the material.
• Triacylglycerols are much more
efficient at storing energy than is
glycogen.
simple triacylglycerol is a triester formed from
the esterification of glycerol with three identical
fatty acid molecules.
A mixed triacylglycerol is a triester formed from
the esterification of glycerol with more than one
kind of fatty acid molecule.
What distinguishes a fat
from an oil?
 Fats Oils
 is a triacylglycerol mixture that is a solid or a semi-  is a triacylglycerol mixture that is a liquid at room
solid at room temperature (25C). temperature (25C)

 fats are obtained from animal sources.  oils are obtained from plant sources.

 Fats are composed largely of triacylglycerols in  Oils contain triacylglycerols with larger amounts of
which saturated fatty acids mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids

 Pure fats and pure oils are colorless,  Pure fats and pure oils are colorless, odorless, and
odorless, and tasteless. tasteless.