fatty acid

Examples of fatty acid in the following topics:

• Lipid Molecules

  • Fatty acids may be saturated or unsaturated.
  • Oleic acid is an example of an unsaturated fatty acid.
  • Essential fatty acids are fatty acids required for biological processes, but not synthesized by the human body.
  • Omega-3 fatty acid, or alpha-linoleic acid (ALA) , falls into this category and is one of only two fatty acids known to be essential for humans (the other being omega-6 fatty acid, or linoleic acid).
  • Alpha-linolenic acid is an example of an omega-3 fatty acid.

• Connecting Lipids to Glucose Metabolism

  • Like sugars and amino acids, the catabolic pathways of lipids are also connected to the glucose catabolism pathways.
  • Triglycerides, a form of long-term energy storage in animals, are made of glycerol and three fatty acids.
  • Animals can make most of the fatty acids they need.
  • Fatty acids are catabolized in a process called beta-oxidation that takes place in the matrix of the mitochondria and converts their fatty acid chains into two carbon units of acetyl groups, while producing NADH and FADH2.
  • The acetyl groups are picked up by CoA to form acetyl CoA that proceeds into the citric acid cycle as it combines with oxaloacetate.

• Membrane Fluidity

  • In their saturated form, the fatty acids in phospholipid tails are saturated with bound hydrogen atoms; there are no double bonds between adjacent carbon atoms.
  • Thus, if saturated fatty acids, with their straight tails, are compressed by decreasing temperatures, they press in on each other, making a dense and fairly rigid membrane.
  • If unsaturated fatty acids are compressed, the "kinks" in their tails elbow adjacent phospholipid molecules away, maintaining some space between the phospholipid molecules.
  • This "elbow room" helps to maintain fluidity in the membrane at temperatures at which membranes with saturated fatty acid tails in their phospholipids would "freeze" or solidify.
  • A cold environment tends to compress membranes composed largely of saturated fatty acids, making them less fluid and more susceptible to rupturing.

• Phospholipids

  • Like fats, they are composed of fatty acid chains attached to a glycerol backbone.
  • Unlike triglycerides, which have three fatty acids, phospholipids have two fatty acids that help form a diacylglycerol.
  • Some lipid tails consist of saturated fatty acids and some contain unsaturated fatty acids.
  • The fatty acid tails of phospholipids face inside, away from water, whereas the phosphate heads face the outward aqueous side.
  • A phospholipid is a molecule with two fatty acids and a modified phosphate group attached to a glycerol backbone.

• Waxes

  • Natural waxes are typically esters of fatty acids and long chain alcohols.
  • Animal wax esters are typically derived from a variety of carboxylic acids and fatty alcohols.
  • One of its main constituents is cetyl palmitate, an ester of a fatty acid and fatty alcohol.
  • Plant waxes are derived from mixtures of long-chain hydrocarbons containing functional groups such as alkanes, fatty acids, alcohols, diols, ketones, and aldehydes.

• Peroxisomes

  • Peroxisomes neutralize harmful toxins and carry out lipid metabolism and oxidation reactions that break down fatty acids and amino acids.
  • They also carry out oxidation reactions that break down fatty acids and amino acids.

• Organic Isomers

  • In triglycerides (fats and oils), long carbon chains known as fatty acids may contain double bonds, which can be in either the cis or trans configuration .
  • On the other hand, triglycerides with trans double bonds (popularly called trans fats), have relatively linear fatty acids that are able to pack tightly together at room temperature and form solid fats.
  • These space-filling models show a cis (oleic acid) and a trans (eliadic acid) fatty acid.

• Food Requirements and Essential Nutrients

  • The omega-3 alpha-linolenic acid and the omega-6 linoleic acid are essential fatty acids needed to synthesize some membrane phospholipids.
  • Many people take supplements to ensure they are obtaining all the essential fatty acids they need.
  • Sea buckthorn contains many of these fatty acids and is also high in vitamins .
  • These amino acids are the "essential" amino acids.
  • These include vitamins, omega 3 fatty acids, and some amino acids.

• Digestion and Absorption

  • Intestinal microflora benefit the host by gleaning the energy from the fermentation of undigested carbohydrates and the subsequent absorption of short-chain fatty acids.
  • Lipases break down the lipids into fatty acids and glycerides.
  • The bile salts surround long-chain fatty acids and monoglycerides, forming tiny spheres called micelles.
  • The micelles move into the brush border of the small intestine absorptive cells where the long-chain fatty acids and monoglycerides diffuse out of the micelles into the absorptive cells, leaving the micelles behind in the chyme.
  • The long-chain fatty acids and monoglycerides recombine in the absorptive cells to form triglycerides, which aggregate into globules, and are then coated with proteins.

• Hormonal Responses to Food

  • One of the important factors under hormonal control is the stomach acid environment.
  • Gastrin stimulates the release of stomach acid, or hydrochloric acid (HCl), which aids in the digestion of the majority of proteins.
  • However, when the stomach is emptied, the acidic environment need not be maintained and a hormone called somatostatin stops the release of hydrochloric acid.
  • Foods high in lipids (fatty foods) take a long time to digest.
  • A hormone called gastric inhibitory peptide is secreted by the small intestine to slow down the peristaltic movements of the intestine to allow fatty foods more time to be digested and absorbed.