Lipid

Simple • A biological compound that is soluble only in

non-polar solvents, generally containing fatty
Lipids acids or sterols.

Building Blocks of Lipids Simple Lipids

Draw each of the following: (waxes, fats & oils)
• Fatty acids = Lipids formed primarily from
• Glycerol fatty acids
Reference
• Glucose Found as biological food stores,
• Phosphoric acid protective coatings and cleansing
• Choline systems.
• Sphingosine
• Sterol

Fatty Acids: • Can be saturated (no C=C bonds) or

• Long chain carboxylic acids (10-20 c’s)
• Usually have an even number of carbons, are
unbranched and have no other functional
groups attached.
• In water, fatty acids will form micelles.
unsaturated (has C=C bonds)
• Fatty acid melting points decrease as the
number of C=C bonds increases.
• Most unsaturated fatty acids are liquids
at room temperature.
• Fatty acids with C=C bonds cannot pack
closely together because of shape. This
leads to decreased intermolecular
attractions and lower melting points.

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• The unstaturated fatty acids usually contain double
bonds in the cis configuration.
• The cis C=C causes “kinking” of the carbon chain.
• These kinks
prevents
polyunsaturated
fatty acids from
packing close
together,
resulting in
weaker attractive
forces and lower
melting points.

Fatty Acids to Know: Essential Fatty Acids:

Saturated Unsaturated = Those needed by the body, but not synthesized
within the body in adequate amounts.
Butryic Oleic
• For humans, linoleic and linolenic acid are
Mystric Linoleic essential, but easily obtainable from plant and
Palmitic Linolenic fish oils.
Stearic Arachidonic
Arachidic

Waxes Natures Waterproofing

Triglycerides
• Esters of fatty • (triglycerols) which are triesters of long
acids and long chained fatty acids and glycerol.
chain alcohols
• Water insoluble
and not easily
hydrolyzed.
Often found in
protective
coatings.

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Simple Triglycerides Structure of a mixed triglycerol in
which three different fatty acid
Comprised with only one residues are present.
fatty acid on a glycerol
backbone.
Mixed Triglycerides
Contain different fatty acids
on the same glycerol backbone.

Fats and Oils Representative triglycerols from a

• Triglycerides that are solid at room fat and an oil.
temperature are called FATS.
• Usually from animal sources. The greater the
number of unsaturated
• Contain a high degree of saturated fatty fatty acids, the more
acids. likely the triglyceride
• Triglycerides that are liquid at room is to be an oil.
temperature are called OILS.
• Usually from plant and fish sources.
• Are liquids at room temperature.
• Contain more unsaturated fatty acids.

From the graphs below, we

Another graph showing fatty acid
can see that different sources
contain vastly different degrees compositions of common fats and oils.
of saturated and unsaturated
fatty acids.

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Simple lipids undergo 5 basic reactions 1. Esterification
- of Glycerol and Fatty acids form triglycerides.
1. Esterification

2. Hydrolysis 3. Saponification 4. Hydrogenation

5. Oxidative Rancidity Glycerol Tristerate

2. Hydrolysis 3. Saponification
– important for fat and oil digestion. – the commercial production of the carboxylate
salts of fatty acids in triglycerides (soaps).

4. Hydrogenation 5.Oxidative Rancidity

- Double bonds of unsaturated fatty acids
are hydrogenated
- decreases the degree of unsaturation,
used to make margarines from oils.
- the oxidation of double bonds of fatty
acids in fats and oils
- Results in the formation of a small
carboxylic acid and an aldehyde.
- Responsible for the foul odor
associated with fat decomposition.

Partially vs. hydrogenated