Dr.

Prajna Mandal
 LIPIDS
• The name comes from the Greek word ‘Lipos’, meaning
‘fats’. They are a heterogeneous group of compounds
including fats, oils, steroids and waxes. They are
substances of biological origin, water-insoluble and are
the cellular components having diverse structure,
hydrophobic and can be extracted by non-polar
solvents.
• Broadly lipids are classified on the basis of their
function as- ‘Storage lipids’ and ‘Structural lipids’. Some
of them are co-factors, hormones, electron carriers,
light absorbing pigments and hydrophobic anchors of
proteins.
Friday, 05 April 2019 Dr. Prajna Mandal - EMRC Lecture 2
• They can also be classified on the basis of their molecular
structures as ‘Simple lipids’ and ‘Complex lipids’.
• Simple lipids – Esters of fatty acids with various alcohols.

Fats and Oils Waxes

Esters of fatty acids with Esters of fatty acids with
Glycerol. Oils are fats in high molecular weight
liquid state. Monohydric alcohols.

Friday, 05 April 2019 Dr. Prajna Mandal - EMRC Lecture 3

 Structure of Simple Lipids

Fats and Oils Waxes

Ester of palmitic acid and 1-

triacontanol

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 Complex Lipids
Esters of fatty acids having groups in addition to an alcohol
and a fatty acid.
Complex Lipids

Phospholipids Glycolipids Ether lipids, Lipoproteins

Lipids having a Archaebacterial ether

Phosphoric acid Sphingo- Galacto- lipids
residue apart lipids lipids
from fatty acids
and an alcohol.
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Phospholipid Glycolipid Ether lipid

Sphingolipid Lipoprotein
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Structure of Archaebacterial ether lipid

Dr. Prajna Mandal - EMRC Lecture

 Functionally lipids are classified as:
Storage lipids- Triacyl glycerols are the main storage fats
derived from many foods. They are fatty acid esters of glycerol.
They are neutral lipids.
Moderately obese people with 15-20 kg of triacyl glycerols
deposited in the adipocytes could meet their energy needs for
months by using the fat reservoir.
Structural lipids- The central architectural feature of
biological membranes is a double layer of lipids. These lipids are
polar and are amphipathic.

An adipocyte

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 Common types of membrane lipids are:

Membrane lipids also include carbohydrate moieties

(Glycolipids). The major glycolipids present in animal
tissues are glycosphingolipids, e.g., cerebroside.
Phospholipids, Glycolipids and Sterols. Archaeal
membranes are built from ether lipids with branched
chains.
Phospholipids are the major class of membrane lipids.

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Gangliosides are complex glycolipids

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Glycolipids present in Chloroplast membranes

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Cholesterol is a lipid based on a steroid nucleus. It
is absent from prokaryotes but is widely present in
all animal membranes.

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 Fatty acids are the key constituent of lipids

• Fatty acids are hydrocarbon chains of various lengths and degrees of

unsaturation that terminate with carboxylic acid groups.
• Fatty acids in the biological system usually have even number of carbon
atoms typically between 14 and 24. The alkyl group may be saturated or
unsaturated. Unsaturated fatty acids have lower melting points than
saturated fatty acids of same length. Chain lengths also affect the melting
points. Short chain lengths and unsaturation enhance the fluidity of fatty
acids. Most naturally occurring unsaturated fatty acids have cis double
bonds. They cannot pack together as tightly as fully saturated fatty acids.

18:1(Δ9) cis-9-octadecenoic acid (Oleic Acid)

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The packing of fatty acids into
stable aggregate
Some naturally occurring fatty acids in animals
Common Glycerophospholipids
Common Sphingolipids
Key terms related to fatty acids
• Saponification
Saponification is a process that produces soap, usually from fats and lye. In
technical terms, saponification involves base (usually caustic soda, NaOH)
hydrolysis of triglycerides, which are esters of fatty acids, to form the sodium salt
of a carboxylate. In addition to soap, such traditional saponification processes
produces glycerol.

• Saponification number
Saponification number (or saponification value or Koettstorfer number, also
referred to as ‘sap’ in short) represents the number of milligrams of potassium
hydroxide required to saponify 1 g of fat under the conditions specified. It is a
measure of the average molecular weight (or chain length) of all the fatty acids
present.

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Key terms related to fatty acids
• Iodine number
The iodine number (or iodine adsorption value or iodine value or iodine index) in
chemistry is the mass of iodine in grams that is consumed by 100 g of a chemical
substance. Iodine numbers are often used to determine the amount of
unsaturation in fatty acids. This unsaturation is in the form of double bonds,
which react with iodine compounds. The higher the iodine number, the more
C=C bonds are present in the fat.
• Acetyl number
A measure of free hydroxyl groups in fats or oils determined by the amount of
potassium hydroxide used to neutralise the acetic acid formed by saponification
of acetylated fat or oil.
• Rancidity
Rancidification, the product of which can be described as rancidity, is the
chemical decomposition of fats, oils and other lipids. When these processes occur
in food, undesirable odors and flavors can result. In some cases, however, the
flavors can be desirable (as in aged cheeses). Rancidification can also detract from
the nutritional value of the food.

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Action of lipases on phospholipids

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 Liposomes, Micelles
Emulsion – An emulsion is a mixture of two or more liquids that are normally immiscible
(nonmixable or unblendable). Emulsions are part of a more general class of two-phase systems of
matter called colloids. Although the terms colloid and emulsion are sometimes used
interchangeably, emulsion should be used when both the dispersed and the continuous phase are
liquids. In an emulsion, one liquid (the dispersed phase) is dispersed in the other (the continuous
phase).

Liposomes – A liposome is an artificially-prepared vesicle composed of a lipid bilayer. The

liposome can be used as a vehicle for administration of nutrients and pharmaceutical drugs.
Liposomes can be prepared by disrupting biological membranes (such as by sonication). Liposomes
are composed of natural phospholipids, and may also contain mixed lipid chains with surfactant
properties (e.g., egg phosphatidylethanolamine). A liposome design may employ surface ligands for
attaching to unhealthy tissue. The major types of liposomes are the multilamellar vesicle (MLV), the
small unilamellar vesicle (SUV), the large unilamellar vesicle (LUV) and the cochleate vesicle.
Liposomes should not be confused with micelles and reverse micelles composed of monolayers.

Micelle – A micelle is an aggregate of surfactant molecules dispersed in a liquid colloid. A typical

micelle in aqueous solution forms an aggregate with the hydrophilic ‘head’ regions in contact with
surrounding solvent, sequestering the hydrophobic single-tail regions in the micelle centre.
Lipids form Micelles, Liposomes,
Emulsions and Membrane Bilayers

Emulsion

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 Other functions of lipids

• Act as potent signaling molecules, e.g.,

phosphatidylinositol.
• Co-factors of enzymes in electron transport chain
reaction in chloropalsts, help in transfer of sugar
moieties during glycosylation.
• Light capturing pigment molecules.
• Vitamin A, D, E, K are fat soluble.
• Lipoproteins.
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Membrane lipids are amphipathic molecules

The polar lipids, with polar

heads and non-polar tails
are the major components
of membranes. The most
abundant are the
glycerophospholipids.
Other polar lipids are the
sterols. Spingolipids are
present at the cell surfaces
and are the sites of
biological recognition.

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