TUT 4 BIO

Phospholipids
Importance in diet:
-Phospholipids are present in high concentrations in the brain, egg yolk, liver and kidney.
-They are not essential dietary components.
-Phospholipids are complex (compound) lipids.

•Phospholipids are amphipathic.

Classification:
Phospholipids
Glycerophospholipids or
Sphingophospholipid
phosphoglyceride
eg. eg. sphingomyelins
•Phosphatidylcholine (lecitin)
•Phosphatidylethanolamine (Cephalin)
•Phosphatidylserine
•Phosphatidylinositol
•Plasmalogens
•Lysophospholipids
•Cardiolipin

Phosphatidic acid

Glycerol & sphingosine

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Phosphatidylcholine (Lecithin)

Functions:
1) Lecithin enters in the structure of cell
membrane.
-It is the most abundant phospholipid in cell
membrane.
2) Lecithin acts as lipotropic factor i.e. prevent
accumulation of fat in liver (fatty liver)
3) Lecithin prevents gall stones: Lecithin in bile
solubilizes cholesterol and prevent cholesterol
stones in gall bladder.
4) Lecithin acts as the body store of choline.
-Choline is important for nerve transmission and transmethylation.
5) Lecithin forms cholesterol esters (in the presence of LCAT enzyme):
Lecithin + Cholesterol → Cholesterol ester + Lysolecithin
-Cholesterol esters is transported to the liver and
excreted with bile,This prevents atherosclerosis.
-Lecithin is a natural surfactant.
6) Dipalmitoyl lecithin
(i.e., lecithin containing 2 palmitic acid residues) acts as a
surfactant in the lung
-It is continuously secreted by the lung cells in the
alveolar wall, forming monolayer over the watery surface
of the alveolus.
-It lowers the surface tension and prevents the alveoli
from collapse.

Phosphatidylserine
Phosphatidylethanolamine(Cephalin
Phosphatidylinositol
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Plasmalogens:
• The pathway for synthesis of plasmalogens occurs in the
peroxisomes.
• It contains a vinyl-ether and an ester bond at the sn-1 and sn-
2 positions, respectively, in the glycerol backbone.
• They constitutes about 10% of the phospholipids present in
brain and muscles .

Cardiolipin (CL):
• Each CL possesses a glycerol backbone connected to two
phosphatidyl lipids.
• Cardiolipin is the major lipid in mitochondrial membrane
• It stimulates antibody formation i.e. antigenic.

Sphingomyelin :

• Sphingomyelin consists of phosphocholine head group, a

sphingosine, and a fatty acid.
• It is one of the few membrane phospholipids not
synthesized from glycerol.
• The sphingosine and fatty acid (usually unsaturated) can
collectively be categorized as a ceramide.

Summary of functions of phospholipids

• Phospholipids form an essential component of plasma
lipoproteins.
• Phospholipids enter into the structure of cell membranes,
myelin sheath, mitochondria and lung alveoli.
• Source of arachidonic acid. This is the substrate for the
formation of prostanoids, leukotriens and lipoxins in the
cell.
• Hypersensitivity and inflammatory reactions
• Phosphatidic acid is produced as an intermediate in the
synthesis of triacylglycerols and phospholipids.
• Cephalin is one of activating factors of coagulation mechanism.
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• Phosphatidylserine plays a role in cell cycle signalling, specifically in relation to apoptosis.

• Phosphatidylinositol acts as precursor of second messenger (inositol triphosphate),
mediating hormonal action inside cells.
• The lecithin-sphingomyelin ratio (L/S ratio or L-S ratio) is the traditional standard for fetal
lung maturity testing.

Formative questions
2- Lecithin is phospholipid its
1- Lecithin and cephalin are: main component (s) is/are?
A.Neutral fats A.Glycerol + 2 fatty acids + H3PO4
+ Choline
B.Glycolipids
B.Glycerol + H2PO4 + Choline
C.Waxes
C.Glycerol + 3 fatty acids
D.Phospholipids
D.Only glycerol
3- What is the other name of lecithin? 4- Plasmalogen synthesis takes
A.Phosphatidylcholine place in
A.Rough endoplasmic reticulum
B.Phosphatidylserine
B.Smooth endoplasmic reticulum
C.Cardiolipin
C.Mitochondria
D.Sphingomyelin
D.Peroxisome
5-Which of the following Is a cephalin
6-Which of the following lipids act as
A.Phosphatidylserine
lungs surfactants?
A.Phosphatidylcholine
B.Phosphatidylethanolamine
B.Phosphatidylethanolamine
C.Phosphatidylcholine
C.Ceramide
D.Phosphatidylinositol
D.Phosphatidylinositol

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7- phospholipid consists of a
A.Polar phosphate hydrophilic tail group and hydrophobic fatty acid head

B.Non-polar phosphate containing head group and polar fatty acid tail

C.Polar phosphate containing hydrophilic head group and hydrophobic fatty acid tail

D.Non-polar phosphate containing head group and non-polar fatty acid tail

8-Which of the following is mostly 9-Which of the following

present in mitochondrial membranes? phosphor lipids plays an
A.Lecithin important role in apoptosis?
A.Dipalmitoyllecithin
B.Cephalin
B.Cardiolipin
C.Cardiolipin
C.Phosphatidylinositol
D.Ceramide
D.Phosphatidylserine
10-Which of the following phospholipids
play an important role in mitochondrial function 11-Lecithin/cholesterol
A.Dipalmitoyl lecithin acyltransferase (LCAT converts
cholesterol to cholesteryl esters)
B.Cardiolipin A.True

C.Phosphatidylinositol B.False

D.Phosphatidylserine

Classify phospholipids
Enumerate two examples for glycerophospholipids
Name one example for sphingophospholipids

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