Lipids

Biological compounds and molecules

• Nucleic acids

• Carbohydrate

• Lipids

• Proteins
LIPDS
• Water-insoluble organic substances (hydrophobic)

• Dissolves in organic solvents

Ex. ether, chloroform, benzene

Importance of lipids
• Important dietary constituent
• Store approximately 2.5x more energy than carbohydrates
• Media for fat dissolving vitamins
• Contain essential fatty acids

• Biomedical importance
• Servers as an insulator ( Thermal and electrical)
• Cellular constituent (lipoproteins in cell membrane and
mitochondria)
Formation
• True lipids are formed by condensation reactions between
fatty acids and an alcohol (ester linkage)
Triglyceride
• An ester derived from glycerol and three fatty acids
Fatty Acid
Fatty acids
Long hydrocarbon chains of various lengths and degrees of
unsaturation terminated with carboxylic acid groups.

General formula : R.COOH

Saturity/ Unsaturity of FA
Saturated FA

Fatty acid which does not contain double bonds

Acetic acid
Unsaturated

• Fatty acid which contain one or more double bonds (C=C)

• The position of a double bond represented by the symbol ∆
followed by a superscript number.

Ex. cis∆9 means that there is a cis double bond between carbon
atoms 9 and 10;
trans∆2 ???
 Saturated Fats Unsaturated fats
Does not have double bonds One/ more double bonds

No “kinks” in the hydrocarbon chain Have “Kinks” in hydrocarbon chain

Usually solid at RT Usually liquid at R.T

Have certain health risks Generally healthier than saturated fats

Higher melting temperature than unsaturated fats lower melting temperatures than saturated fats
Stearic acid - 69.680C Oleic acid - 13.480C

Ex. Most animal fats Ex. Most plant fats

Bacon , lard, Butter Corn, Pea nut, Olive oil
 Essential fatty acids
cannot be synthesized in the body and must be
obtained from food.
 Saturtaed

Monounsaturated

Polyunsatated - PUFA
Fatty acid Nomenclature
Two double bonds 18:2
Octadecadienoic acid
‘Linoleic acid ’
CH3(CH2)16CH3  CH3(CH2)16COOH
C18 Hydrocarbon chain C18 Fatty acid
Three double bonds 18:3
Octadecane Octadecatrienoic acid
Octadecanoic acid
‘Stearic acid’
• Occurs mainly as esters in natural fats and oils
• Unesterified form as free fatty acids (in plasma)
Type of lipids
Common lipids

• Glycerides

• Waxes

• Membrane lipids-( Phospholipid, Glycolipid, Cholesterol etc.)

Glyceride

• Most abundant lipid

Important constituent in nervous tissue Such as brain
and outer cell membrane

• Richest source of energy in the body

• Monoglyseride-one fatty acid tail

• Diglyseride – two fatty acid tails
• Triglycerides - Three fatty acid tails
Waxes
• Long -chain fatty acids linked to long-chain alcohols or to carbon
rings.

• Ex. coats on leaves, fruits, animal skin, feathers, fur, Beeswax , cutin
lipids as membrane constituents
• 03 major kinds of membrane lipids

1. phospholipids

2. glycolipids

3. cholesterol
1. Phospholipid
• A phospholipid molecule is constructed from four components,
Hydrophobic Hydrophilic

One or more fatty acids

Phosphate
An alcohol attached to the phosphate
Platform to which the fatty acids are attached
- Glycerol – ‘Phosphoglycerides’
- Three carbon alcohol/sphingosine – ‘Sphingomyelin’
- More complex alcohol.
Phosphoglyceride

• Simplest phosphoglyceride – “phosphatidate”

• The major phosphoglycerides are derived by the formation of an ester
bond between the phosphate group of phosphatidate and the hydroxyl
group of one of several alcohols.

• Common alcohol moieties of phosphoglycerides :

Amino acid serine, ethanolamine, choline, glycerol, and inositol
 FA-
Sphingomyelin
/
phosphorylcholine
• Phospholipids backbone is sphingosine (an amino alcohol that
contains a long, unsaturated hydrocarbon chain)
2. Glycolipids
• Carbohydrate-containing lipids.
• Glycolipids in animal cells are derived from sphingosine.
• Simplest glycolipid – Cerebroside
• More-complex glycolipids – Ex. Gangliosides
3. Cholesterol
• It is the parent molecule which all other steroids are synthesized. (Vit
D, Sex hormones, bile acids etc. )
• A hydrocarbon tail is linked to the steroid at one end, and a hydroxyl
group is attached at the other end.
HDL and LDL cholesterol ??
• Chloesterol and triglycerides cannot circulate freely in blood (As blood
is mostly water)
• Circulate as lipoproteins attach with proteins and other substances
HDL – High density lipoproteins
LDL – Low density lipoproteins
• Chloesterol attached with HDL – HDL Chloesterol ~ healthy
• Chloesterol attached with LDL – LDL Chloesterol ~ unhealthy (trans
unsaturated and saturated fat)