Lesson Title: Lipids

Lipids

✓ Comes from the Greek lipos – fat

✓ Consist of a heterogeneous group of compounds that are insoluble in water and are soluble in non-
polar solvents (chloroform, ether, benzene)

Biological Functions of Lipids:

1. Store chemical energy in the body

2. Insulate vital organs

3. Covering of nerve fibers

4. Components of cell membrane

5. Chemical messengers (hormones)

Classification of Lipids:

1. Saponifiable lipids – produce fatty acid salts upon treatment with NaOH
 a. Triacylglycerols
 b. Waxes
 c. Phospholipids
• Glycerophospholipid
• Sphingolipid
 d. Glycolipids
2. Non-saponifiable lipids
a. Steroids
b. Terpenes

Fatty Acids

 Fatty acids are monocarboxylic acids that typically contain hydrocarbon chains of variable
lengths (between 12 and 20 carbons)
 an acid group at one end (carboxylic acid, -COOH) and hydrogen atoms attached all along their
length
 usually contain an even number of carbons

Two main types of fatty acid:

 Saturated fatty acid

 no double bonds between carbons
 solid at room temperature
 Unsaturated fatty acid
 have one or more double bonds between carbons in chain
 liquid at room temperature
 monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) –
 one double bond present in fatty acid
 Found mostly in vegetable oils such as olive, canola & peanut
 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA)
 more than one double bond present in fatty acid
 Found in nuts, vegetable oils such as sunflower and soybean, and in fatty fish

Essential fatty acids

 Those fatty acids that are not synthesized in the body but required for normal body growth and
maintenance. These fatty acids are to be supplied through diet.

Body that can’t synthesize such:

1. Linoleic acid (omega-6 fatty acid)

2. Linolenic acid (omega-3 fatty acid)
Triacylglycerol

 the simplest lipids constructed from fatty acids and glycerol

 referred as triglycerides, fats or neutral fats.
 that are solid at room temperature are called as fats
 the liquid triacylglycerol’s are called as oils

Waxes

 are esters of long chain saturated and unsaturated fatty acids with long chain alcohol.
 serve as protective coatings on leaves, stems, and fruits of plants.
 contain hydrocarbons, alcohols, fatty acids, aldehydes, and sterols.

Phospholipids

 A lipid consisting of a water-soluble head (phosphate) and a fat-soluble tail (fatty acids)
 Contain phosphorous
 Serve as emulsifiers (allow fats and water to mix and travel in and out of cells into watery
fluid on both sides)

Types of Phospholipids:

 Phosphoglycerides/Glycerophospholipids
 Sphingomyelins
 contain sphingosine instead of glycerol
 also classified as sphingolipids
Sphingolipids have:
 a polar head group (X) than contains a
 two non-polar tails
 lack a glycerol core and have only one fatty acid that is
connected by an amide linkage.

Glycolipids

 The ceramides are also precursors for the glycolipids, sometimes referred to as the
glycosphingolipids
 In glycolipids a monosaccharide, disaccharide, or oligosaccharide is attached to a ceramide
through an O-glycosidic linkage
 Differ from sphingomyelin in that it contains no phosphate

Sterols (steroid alcohols)

 characteristic structure of sterol is their steroid nucleus consisting of four fused rings, three with
six carbons (Phenanthrene) and one with five carbons (cyclopentane).
 Steroid nucleus is nearly planar and relatively rigid (cholesterol in bilayers stiffens the
membrane)
 Cholesterol is the most abundant sterol in animals

Terpenes

 They are hydrocarbons or hydrocarbon derivatives constructed from recurring isoprene units

Biological Membrane

 Most of the properties attributed to living organisms depend on membranes

Features of biological membranes

1. Membrane Fluidity
2. Selective Permeability
3. Self-sealing capacity
4. Asymmetry
 Amino Acids, Peptides and Proteins

Proteins

 are the most abundant biological macromolecules, occurring in all cells and all parts of cells
 All proteins are constructed from the same ubiquitous set of 20 amino acids

Cells

o can produce proteins with strikingly different properties and activities by joining the
same 20 amino acids in many different combinations and sequences

Types of Proteins
 Structural
• Contractile
• Transport
• Storage
• Hormonal
• Enzyme
• Protection
Amino Acids

 Building blocks of proteins

 Carboxylic acid group
 Amino group
 Side group R gives unique characteristics