What is the general structure of a triglyceride?
Triglycerides are esters in which three molecules of one or more different fatty acids are linked to the alcohol glycerol; they are named according to the fatty acid components; e.g., tristearin contains three molecules of stearic acid, and oleodistearin, one of oleic acid and two of stearic acid.
How are triglycerides broken down?
To obtain energy from fat, triglycerides must first be broken down by hydrolysis into their two principal components, fatty acids and glycerol. This process, called lipolysis, takes place in the cytoplasm. The resulting fatty acids are oxidized by β-oxidation into acetyl CoA, which is used by the Krebs cycle.
What is the structure and function of triglycerides?
Triglycerides are the main energy storage molecules of plants and animals. Triglycerides are made of a glycerol molecule bonded to three fatty acid chains.
What is the structure of fatty acid?
Generally, a fatty acid consists of a straight chain of an even number of carbon atoms, with hydrogen atoms along the length of the chain and at one end of the chain and a carboxyl group (―COOH) at the other end. It is that carboxyl group that makes it an acid (carboxylic acid).
What is the difference between fats and triglycerides?
Triglycerides are a type of fat (lipid) found in your blood. When you eat, your body converts any calories it doesn’t need to use right away into triglycerides. The triglycerides are stored in your fat cells. Later, hormones release triglycerides for energy between meals.
How do you get rid of glycerol fat?
Glycerol is essentially insoluble in biodiesel so that almost all glycerol is easily removed by settling or centrifugation. Free glycerol may remain either as suspended droplets or as the very small amount that does dissolve in the biodiesel.
What are the building blocks of triglycerides?
The two building blocks that compose triglycerides are fatty acids and glycerol.
Is triglyceride a fat?
What are the general structures of triglycerides phospholipids and steroids?
In a fat, three fatty acids are joined to glycerol by an ester linkage, creating a triacylglycerol, or triglyceride. Phospholipids have two fatty acids attached to glycerol and a phosphate group at the third position. Steroids are lipids with a carbon skeleton consisting of four fused rings.
What is the structure of unsaturated fatty acids?
Unsaturated fatty acids have one or more carbon-carbon double bonds. The term unsaturated indicates that fewer than the maximum possible number of hydrogen atoms are bonded to each carbon in the molecule.
What is the difference between triglyceride and triglyceride?
‘Triacylglycerol’ is the correct chemical name for a simple ester with three fatty acids bound to a glycerol backbone while ‘triglyceride’ is the common name for the same substance.
What is the structure of a triglyceride?
Triglycerides and most phospholipids consist of glycerol and fatty acid chains. Fatty acids have methyl groups at one end of the chain and carboxyl groups on the opposite end.
What is the main function of triglycerides?
The main function of triglycerides is to store fat and to provide living organisms with the energy for metabolism. Triglycerides are the most common form of fat in the human body and stored in fat cells.
Why are triglycerides also called triacylglycerols?
Because of their chemical structure, triglycerides are also called triacylglycerols. Some fatty acids have common names that specify their origin. Fatty acids may be saturated or unsaturated. Unsaturated fatty acids have one or more double bonds.
How are fatty acids attached to glycerol?
In the triglyceride molecule, the fatty acids are attached to each of the three carbons of the glycerol molecule with an ester bond through an oxygen atom. During this ester bond formation, three water molecules are released. The three fatty acids in the triacylglycerol may be similar or dissimilar.