Oils & fats

 Definition

◦ Lipids are water-insoluble biomolecules that have

high solubility in organic solvents

◦ Lipid compounds includes monoglycerides,

diglycerides, triglycerides, phospholipids, sterols,
fatty acids etc
 Biological roles of lipids
◦ Source of energy
◦ Carrying fat soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K)
◦ Structural components of brain, cell membranes
and other tissues
◦ Source of various bioactive compounds and
antioxidants
 Fatty acids consist of elements C, H and O
arranged as a carbon chain skeleton with a
carboxyl group at one end

 These molecules are amphipathic

 Can be grouped into saturated and

unsaturated FA
 Saturated fatty acids have all the hydrogen
that the carbon atoms can hold, ie no double
bonds

 Unsaturated fatty acids have double bonds in

the hydrocarbon backbone
 Monounsaturated fatty acids have one double
bond

 Polyunsaturated fatty acids have more than

one double bond
The systematic name of fatty acids are
derived from the name of its parent
hydrocarbon by substitution of oic for the
final e
Examples are:
Butane(4C) – Butanoic acid
Hexadecane (16C) – Hexadecanoic acid
 By convention the carbon of the carboxyl
group is carbon number one

 Greek numeric such as di, tri, tetra, penta,

hexa are used to describe the number of
carbon

 Common names are often used more than the

systematic names
 Carbon number 2 is known as alpha(α)
carbon and the last carbon in the series is
known as omega(ω) carbon

 The double bond is indicated by ∆ followed

by the number of carbon as superscript
◦ Eg ∆2 means a double bond between carbon 2 and
three, ∆9 means a double bond between carbon 9
and 10
 The orientation of hydrogen atoms on the
double bond can be Cis or Trans

 Cis means on the same side and trans means

across or on the other side
Most fatty acids occurring in nature are in cis
form, the trans form results from chemical
hyrogenation of polyunsaturated FA in
vegetable oils
 The double bonds binds carbon atoms tightly
and prevent the rotation of carbon atoms
along the bond axis

 Fatty acids can be represented by showing

the number of carbons and the number of
double bonds eg 18:1, 18:2, 18:3
 14:0, Myristic acid, CH3(CH2)12COOH, often
found attached to the N-term. of plasma
membrane
 16:0, Palmitic acid, CH (CH2) COOH, End
3 14
product of mammalian fatty acid synthesis
 16:1∆9, Palmitoleic acid,

CH3(CH2)5C=C(CH2)7COOH
 18:0, Stearic acid, CH (CH2) COOH
3 16
 18:1∆9, Oleic acid,
CH3(CH2)7C=C(CH2)7COOH
 18:2∆9,12 Linoleic acid (EFA)
 18:3∆9,12,15 Linolenic acid (EFA)
 20:4∆5,8,11,14 Arachidonic acid, (EFA)

Precursor for eicosanoid synthesis

 These are unsaturated essential fatty acids
that need to be incorporated into diet
because the human metabolism can not
create them

 Omega 3 are acids with the double bond at

3C away from omega carbon and in omega 6
the double bond is 6C from omega carbon
Linolenic acid is an omega 3 FA
(18:3∆9,12,15)
Arachidonic acid is omega 6 FA
(20:4∆5,8,11,14)
They are essential fatty acids, are supplied by
dietary plant oils
EFA are precursors for eicosapentanoic acid
(EPA) and docosahexanoic acid (DHA)
EPA and DHA are found in fish oils, are used
for synthesis of eicosanoids
 Are main constituents of vegetable oils and
animal fats
 At room temperatures may be solid or liquid,

when liquid are called oils and when solid

they are called fats
 Acylglycerols contain glycerol and FA
 A TAG is formed from one molecule of

glycerol and 3 molecules of FAs

 TAGs are:
◦ Non polar
◦ Hydrophobic
◦ Insoluble in water
◦ This is due to utilization of the polar groups of
glycerol and fatty acids
 Specialized cells in animal cells eg adipocytes
stores large amounts of TAGs as fat droplets

 Also TAGs are stored in many plant seeds and

serves as a source of energy during
germination
 TAGs are good source of energy bcs

◦ Yields more energy than CHO (more than twice)

◦ Are hydrophobic, unhydrated, therefore the body

does not carry extra molecules of water
 Heating TAGs with alkaline solutions eg.
NaOH or KOH yields glycerol and salts of fatty
acids
 This is the reaction which is used for

manufacturing soaps
 Soaps are useful because can solubilize

water-insoluble materials by formation of

miscelles
 Consist of alcohol such as glycerol, one or
two molecules of fatty acids and a phosphoric
acid compound

 They are natural surfactants and emulsifiers

 They are found in all animals and plant cells
 X can be:
◦ Ethanolamine
◦ Choline
◦ Serine
◦ Glycerol
◦ Inositol
◦ Phosphatidyl glycerol
 The most common phospholipids are:
◦ lecithin (phospatidylcholine)
◦ Phosphatidylethanolamine
◦ Phosphatidylinositol and
◦ Phosphatidylserine
Phosphatidylserine
 Lecithin is a significant constituent of brain
and nervous tissue

 Cell walls and other biological membranes

consist of two layers of phospholipids
 Fatty acid tails of the phospholipids are
oriented toward each other and the
phosphate groups form the outer surfaces of
the membrane