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Relationship btwn fat, fatty acids, lipids, triglycerides?
How are all of the above molecules/compounds related? Which are a subcategory of which, and which are more-or-less synonymous etc, and what are some nutritionally or biologically relevant examples?
2 Answers
- AndrewLv 41 decade agoFavourite answer
Hi,
Fats, lipids and triglycerides are synonyms for "fat".
Fat is the biggest "generic" term. When most people talk about "fat" they are really talking about "lipids"
Lipids include sterols like cholesterol - so trigylcerides are a subset of lipids
Triglycerides are composed of three fatty acids and glycerol
Glycerol is a three carbon chain with 3 hydroxyl groups. Its chemical name is 1,2,3-trihydroxypropane. The chemical structure is HOCH2-CH(OH)-CH2OH
A ester bonds forms between each of the alcohols and a fatty acid which is basically just a long chain carboxylic acid (often with unsaturated bonds), ie polyunsaturated fat. Animal fat is mainly composed of saturated fats (in which the fatty acids are fully hydrogenated of generic formula CH3-(CH2)n-CO2H) whereas many plant oils (sunflower, rape) have unsaturated fatty acids.
A phospholipid results when one of the three hydroxyl groups on the glycerol is substituted with a phosphate group. Phospholipids therefore only have two fatty acid groups.
